December 9, 2008

Purple and Green spring


Purple and Green spring, originally uploaded by blmurch.

Springtime has arrived to Buenos Aires. The trees have come alive, the birds are full of energy and vigor and the sun shines brightly. The streets are lined with full trees casting cooling shadows on the sidewalks.

The Ceibo tree, the national tree of Argentina (and Uruguay), bursts forth with red flowers, adding a splash of color to the gnarled and knotted brown branches. The peeling european Plane trees arch tall over the avenues, the spring wind sending their fluffy seeds flying through the air to land on the ground below. The dark and light Tipa trees drip on the unsuspecting people walking the boulevards underneath. The purple Jacarandas brighten the parks, plazas and streets as parrots flit and cry between them. The thorny Palo Borracho trees' seed pods burst white cotton buds from their budding branches. The expansive Rubber trees grow so large their heavy branches need to be propped up by posts. The Mimosa trees fan their pink flowers out over their delicate and sensitive green leaves. The Poplar trees and the Eucalyptus trees dot the expansive Palermo Bosques.

The trees of Buenos Aires give life to the city. Most of the greenery is due to Carlos Thays' work in the late 1800s. He designed the Jardin Botanico, the Bosques de Palermo, and many of the important Plazas: San Martin, Congreso, Mayo, ConstitutiĆ³n, Lezama among others. He is responsible for the large tree-lined avenues which I love so much. The Tipa and Plane trees arch over the grand boulevards and avenues and provide much appreciated shade in the spring and summer.

This blog will explore the beauty, the history, the legends and the life cycles of the trees of Buenos Aires. I hope you enjoy the posts and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely opening photograph. I was always wondering what was dripping on me under the trees near Bella Arts. Now I know. I am looking forward to more tree photos and history.

Beatrice M said...

Thanks Cate! That photo was from last year, but I love the contrast of the colors. Sort of demonstrates the planning.

Katie said...

Interesting idea for a blog! I found you through NetworkedBlogs on Facebook. I'm looking forward to reading more.

Beatrice M said...

Thank you Katie! I'll be writing more posts soon. Look forward to meeting you when you arrive in Buenos Aires in February. Best of luck with the move.

Unknown said...

I just found your blog and am excited to browse through your photo collection. I love the trees of Buenos Aires and will use your blog to help me put together a tree watching walk. When the jacarandas are in flower, I salvage the blossoms from the ground every day.

Can you confirm that the Tipas (Tipuana tipu) are also referred to as "banana" trees by locals?

I hope you keep you pics posted at flickre for some time as it'll take me a while to fully browse them in what spare time I have.

What are your camera specs? Body and lens?

Beatrice M said...

Hello @woorijip I love the jacarandas, they are one of my favorite trees here in Buenos Aires. I cannot confirm that the Tipas are also called "banana" trees, but I can ask around. I've never heard that before.

My photos on flickr aren't going anywhere anytime soon unless something happens to flickr. I really like having my archive there.

I use a couple of cameras. My small point and shoot is a Canon Powershot SD870 and my larger DSLR is a Nikon D40 and I have three different lenses. You can check out the "properties" of any shot on flickr and it will tell you all the specs the camera has for that particular shot.

Kurmudgeon said...

I am a native porteƱo who loves in the USA and I came across your lovely site when my mother in law sent me the link. Made me nostalgic!

For the "banana' tree issue, here is your answer.

What locals call "platanos" is the plane trees. The word "Platano" is translated in other countries as banana, hence the confusion. If you did not learn Spanish in Argentina, you might trasnlate it wrongly. In Argentina "banana" tree would be "bananero". We had one, a "bananero", in our garden growing up.

Beatrice M said...

Thank you so much Forest Magic for that explanation. That makes a lot of sense. I really like the plane trees and will be writing a post on them soon. :D

Post a Comment