December 13, 2017

The aroma of Tilos

As you walk through the streets of Buenos Aires, in the spring months of November and into December, every once in a while you will get a whiff of something beautifully aromatic. The smell is sweet and makes you think of perfume and carefree afternoons in the park. This smell is ephemeral and difficult to track down. But, if you look at the nearby trees as you pass you might notice tiny yellow-white flowers, hidden underneath the leaves. You have to look at the tree from underneath to get the full effect and to discover where this heady aroma is coming from. This can be somewhat difficult as the Tilo trees can get grow up to 40 meters tall! Normally they are between 20 and 40 meters tall, and they can live to be 500 years old.

While these flowers are heady and aromatic and the bees love them, interestingly this is not how they propagate. They spread out via their root system, which can be quite problematic for the sidewalks of Buenos Aires, and most notably, the nearby city of La Plata, where these trees dominate the landscape so much, the city is known as Tilo City.

These beautiful trees provide wonderful shade in the summer as you walk down the streets due to their large leaves. They are mostly planted in the sidewalks and not so much in the plazas.



They also provide medicinal benefits via the wood, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Tilo is a common tea you can buy here in Argentina and is mostly used to relax.

In English, the tree is mostly known as linden, but also Tilia and Lime tree, although it has nothing to do with the lime fruit.



As always with the trees in Buenos Aires, don't forget to look up, you just might be surprised by what you find.

Further Reading:

November 11, 2017

Successful opening and a bit of press for the show!

The show had quite a successful opening on Saturday November 4th with some 50-60 people in attendance. The day was bright and cheerful, the crowd was interested and interesting and the photos all looked great hung up on the walls.  I know that several friends have been during this past week as well and have all sent really positive feedback.

My friend Ariel K was on hand and took some lovely photos.  I have linked to the album on FB and included some photos below.  Juan Pablo and Malena were also on hand to take video of the opening and also the day before they took some of the mounting of the photos. When that is ready to show, I'll post another update.
Beatrice at the opening of her show "Jacarandas of Buenos Aires."


A bit of food for the guests
Jeff and Jerry from Bolinas made it to the show in Buenos Aires!
More nibbles for guests
Aggie, Beatrice and Paula at the opening
Luci and Roberto checking out Beatrice's book "Seasons of Buenos Aires."
Clarin, one of the daily newspapers here in Buenos Aires, just published an article about the jacarandas of Buenos Aires and included a quote from me and a bit about the show which was very nice of them.

"Pero no sólo los porteños muestran una admiración floral inusitada. También los extranjeros, como Beatrice Murch, fotógrafa estadounidense afincada en Buenos Aires que el sábado inauguró una exposición en el Botánico sólo con imágenes de esta especie.

“Llegué a la Ciudad un mes de noviembre, con los jacarandás en flor. Estaban tan lindos que me enamoré. En California, donde nací, también hay, pero acá están por todos lados: en las avenidas y las plazas, y también en las calles angostas, donde son una sorpresa de color”, cuenta entusiasmada Murch."

Dear readers and supporters, thank you so much for all of your support in making this dream a reality.

October 17, 2017

Las Jacarandas de Buenos Aires

This blog has been dormant for far too long, but life has kept on going. Most relevant to this blog, is that I have been very busy coordinating a photo exhibition of my collection of photos of Jacarandas of Buenos Aires at the Jardín Botánico of Buenos Aires.  Through the generous sponsorship of friends, family, and fans via an IndieGoGo campaign, more than enough funds were raised to mount this show.  With the sponsorship of the Marcelo Gurruchaga Espacio Fotográfico, the Jardín Botánico and the IndieGoGo campaign, this series of Jacaranda photos will be on exhibition during the month of November, when the Jacarandas themselves will be in bloom all throughout the city.

Show from November 4-26 at the Jardín Botánico in Buenos Aires
of the Jacaranda Photos by Beatrice Murch
I hope readers can make it to the opening on November 4th from 12-14 hrs, and if not then, please stop by the gardens throughout the month and have a peak in the main brick building at the exhibition.