A Day in Paradise: meet the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden [ENG | ESP]

While in the Northern Hemisphere the days are beginning to cool down with the advance of autumn, in the Southern Hemisphere we are almost halfway through spring, which means increasingly warmer days, less rain, longer days, and landscapes full of flowers and lots of colors. For this reason, it's an ideal time to visit mountains, gardens, and any space where the trees are filled with colorful blossoms. Today I want to share one of my favorites for this purpose. >Mientras en el hemisferio Norte los días comienzan a refrescar con el avance del otoño, al Sur del planeta estamos entrando ya casi en la mitad de la primavera, lo que significa días cada ve más calurosos, menos lluvias, días más largos y paisajes llenos de flores y muchos colores. Por esa razón es una época ideal para visitar montañas, jardines y cualquier espacio en el que los árboles se llenen de coloridas flores y hoy les quiero compartir uno de mis favoritos para ello. I first discovered the Mérida Botanical Garden (Venezuela) on a trip to that Andean city, where I happened to have a copy of Ernest Hemingway's *The Garden of Eden* with me. Years later, I visited the Viña del Mar Botanical Garden (Chile), also beautiful, before a forest fire destroyed it (it's now almost fully restored). However, none of them have seemed as beautiful to me as the Carlos Thays Botanical Garden in Buenos Aires. Located on Santa Fe Avenue, near Plaza Italia and the [Ecoparque](https://hive.blog/hive-163772/@cristiancaicedo/ecoparque-de-buenos-aires-a-natural-oasis-in-the-middle-of-the-city-engoresp), the seven hectares of the garden are a green lung for the city and an oasis of nature and tranquility in the middle of Buenos Aires's urban sprawl. This beautiful place was created in 1898 by French landscaper Carlos Thays, a man hired by the Argentine government to design, build, and/or expand 69 squares and parks in the city—69! Every time you go to Buenos Aires or walk around the city and see a square, a corner, a space that combines nature, flowers, sculptures, and blossoms, it's very likely that space was designed by Thays. We largely owe him the beautiful face of the Argentine capital, which, despite being a metropolis, preserves many green spaces, with trees and flowers, designed for the relaxation and enjoyment of the city's inhabitants. For that reason, his most extensive work, the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden bears the name of this distinguished Frenchman.  |  --- | ---  |  >Conocí el Jardín Botánico de Mérida (Venezuela) en un viaje que hice a aquella ciudad andina y en el que _casualmente_ llevaba conmigo un ejemplar de _El Jardín del Edén_ de Ernest Hemingway. Años más tarde conocí el de Viña del Mar (Chile), hermoso también, antes de que un incendio forestal lo destruyera (actualmente está casi totalmente recuperado), pero ninguno de ellos me ha parecido tan bello como el Jardín Botánico Carlos Thays de la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Ubicado en la Avenida Santa Fe, cerca de plaza Italia y del [Ecoparque](https://hive.blog/hive-163772/@cristiancaicedo/ecoparque-de-buenos-aires-a-natural-oasis-in-the-middle-of-the-city-engoresp) las siete hectáreas de terreno del jardín son un pulmón verde para la ciudad y un oasis de naturaleza y tranquilidad en medio del urbanismo porteño. Este hermoso lugar fue creado en 1898 por el paisajista francés Carlos Thays, un hombre que fue contratado por el gobierno argentino para diseñar, construir y/o ampliar 69 plazas y parques de la ciudad ¡69! Cada vez que vayan a Buenos Aires o caminen por la ciudad y vean una plaza, un rincón, un espacio que combine naturaleza, flores, esculturas y flores, es muy probable que ese espacio haya sido realizado por Thays. En buena medida le debemos a él el hermoso rostro de la capital argentina que a pesar de ser una metrópolis conserva muchos espacios verdes, con árboles, flores, diseñados para el descanso y el disfrute de los habitantes de la ciudad. Por esa razón y porque fue su obra más extensa, el Jardín Botánico de Buenos Aires lleva el nombre de este insigne francés.  |  |  --- | --- | ---   |  |  --- | --- | --- --- Nearly two-thirds of the garden is covered with vegetation from all over the world. Ginkgo, eucalyptus, oak, elm, fern, palm, bamboo, araucaria, rubber, sequoia, and many other species from all five continents coexist in the garden with sunflowers, butterflies, purple, pink, red, and blue flowers, a greenhouse, and even a xerophytic garden... It is truly a representation of the mythical Eden, where we can sit in the shade of trees from all over the world or admire the colors and scents of flowers from diverse origins. >Casi las dos terceras partes del jardín están cubiertos por vegetación de todas partes del mundo. Ginkgos, eucaliptos, robles, olmos, helechos, palmeras, bambús, araucarias, gomeros, sequoias y muchas otras especies de los cinco continentes conviven en el jardín con los girasoles, las mariposas, flores moradas, rosadas, rojas, azules, un invernadero y hasta un jardín xerófilo... es realmente una representación del mítico Edén porque allí podemos sentarnos a la sombra de árboles de todo el mundo o admirar los colores y los olores de flores de diversos orígenes. This blend of nature, landscape, and art is one of my favorite things about the place. The various statues you find along the way represent concepts alluding to nature or some of the countries represented in its spaces. I remember one symbolizing spring and another of Luperca, the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus, the mythological founders of Rome. Admission to the garden is free and open Monday through Sunday, making it a favorite spot for locals and foreigners who want to see some nature, sit and read on a bench, or seek shelter under the shade and coolness of all those trees, especially on the hottest summer days. The Buenos Aires Botanical Garden is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and the only thing I would change would be to allow—at least in some areas—one to sit on the grass, something that is currently prohibited. I understand that this prohibition helps preserve the place and its landscape, but I feel that in addition to being contemplated, nature is meant to be experienced, to be connected to. I like grounding, or lying on the grass to read, things I did in the gardens in Mérida and Viña del Mar and would have loved to do at the Carlos Thays, which, I must admit, is also a place that is kept tidy and clean. I visited it in the summer, but I imagine spring, especially November, would be a better time to enjoy all the flowers. Do any of you know this place? I'll read your comments.  |  --- | ---  |