Plants!

This morning started with a pleasant visit to the Jardin des Plantes on the Left Bank. It was established in 1626 as the king's garden and is now the home of extensive gardens, a botany school, a zoo, and several exhibit halls, including the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution. I didn't visit any of the buildings but spent a happy few hours puttering around in the sunshine looking at plants.

The Alpine garden was the most remarkable in terms of beauty and variety; I even saw some prickly pear cactus in there, along with a few other types of cactus.

There was also a fairly extensive teaching garden; each area was devoted to a different plant family, with a sign describing each family and naming some representative species. Another area had a sign describing the different leaf types, flower types, etc., with a key to various numbered plants in the nearby beds that exhibited each characteristic. It looked like an excellent educational tool. I also liked seeing the tree of life illustrating how the families of plants are related. This picture is not the greatest (sorry), but it does give you some idea of how it looked.

All in all, it was an impressive place. I'm sure I only skimmed the surface; I saw clusters of serious botanists or gardeners gathering to discuss one plant or another, and a number of sketchers were at work in the Alpine garden.