After leaving Luxembourg Gardens, we walked 1.4 miles to the Jardin des Plantes.  The Jardin des Plantes is a large botanical garden located just to the east of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.  It covers 69.2 acres and was the first botanical garden to be created in Paris.  Though it was founded in 1626, it did not open to the public until 1640.  It was originally planted by Louis XIII’s physician, Doctor Guy de la Brosse as a medicinal herb garden.

I am currently reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, and I’ve enjoyed the many references to the Jardin des Plantes.  I can picture Marie-Laure and her father traipsing through the gardens on their way to the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of locks.  If you, too, are reading this wonderful book, I hope that my photographs will help bring the Jardin des Plantes to life for you.

There were many plants that I had never seen before, and I didn’t do a very good job of taking photographs of all of the name placards (shame on me), so there won’t be much information to share in the post — only pictures of pretty flowers.

Here’s a link to the Imgur photo album containing the photographs in this post.

Russell Hybrid Lupines

Fragrant White Flowers on a Shrub

Small, Delicate Yellow Flowers

Acanthus spinosus

Ebenus cretica

Pink Poppies

A Friendly Frog With a LOUD Ribbit

People & Poppies

Shades of Pink, Purple, & Green

Iochroma australe

Eremostachys laciniata

Centranthus ruber

Centranthus ruber

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask?
A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”
-Victor Hugo (Les Misérables)