Jardín Botánico de València

My love of gardens is well known to most of those who’ve met me. My little oasis in Victoria has been a source of joy for many years as well as a place to gather friends and family. The prospect of creating a new garden again, at some point, will bring me new joy, I’m sure. Checking out any and all gardens and parks available wherever I visit is, therefore, a pretty high priority for me. Unfortunately, I have to hang my head in shame for having waited so long to visit el Jardín Botánico de València. This was finally corrected today.

El Jardín Botánico de la Universidad de València as it is properly known, was founded in 1567 and for the first 200 years or so it was a medical plants garden. It wasn’t located at its current spot immediately either; it wasn’t until 1802 that the current location, just outside the west edge of Ciutat Vella and Jardins del Turia. It also wasn’t taken care of as well as it should have been during the XX century, but since the start of restoration in 1987, the University has done a fantastic job bringing the whole gardens to its former glory.

I walked to the gardens along Jardins del Turia starting at Porta dels Serrans, for the first time venturing further than the baseball fields. As this was late morning and midweek, the park was much quieter than on the weekend so I had it almost all to myself too. It’s really difficult to see the gardens from the streets; it is very well camouflaged–the large surrounding wall doesn’t help, either. The entrance was also located on the side furthest from Jardins del Turia so it felt like I was constantly around the corner from it. Fortunately I did find it, eventually, and paid my €2.50 to enter. I was greeted by a kitty cat who seemed friendly but not overly so. I also stumbled on a mini-photoshoot right by the entrance though it was probably just a guy taking photos of his girlfriend. The reason I call it a “photoshoot” is that they were taking a really long time, she was striking a lot of poses, and since I didn’t want to mess up their shots with my presence, I waited for them to be done. As it was, we kept bumping into each other (figuratively) a lot over the next hour but I never saw them get quite so self-obsessed again.

Not knowing where to start, I just began wondering down all the paths I could see, taking photos of interesting plants, though mostly accentuating their texture and colour rather than their existence. I didn’t realize until later that I probably should have taken photos of their names as well. Fortunately for you, I have a cool little app called Seek that does all the plant naming based on photos in the comfort of my room. I could have done so right there and then too, of course, but that would have meant looking at my phone much too much and not enjoying the surroundings. I know that November is probably not the best time to be cruising around a botanical garden, however, there were still so many interesting plants, some of them actually flowering, that I really did not mind the season at all. That said, I do look forward to going back in the spring when there should be much more colour to greet me. I particularly want to go back and see the wall of climbers, mostly clematis, that I know will be covered in flowers in a few months’ time.

Then there were the cats. Aside from the guardian at the gates, I kept seeing many of them, some sleeping, some lounging around, some going about their cat business. At first I felt really sad for them but then I noticed an older gentleman who appeared to be feeding them canned food … well, he was feeding the one that was at least partially Siamese; maybe it was his favourite? I sure hope the other ones also got some food, too. I may have to try and remember to buy some cat treats to bring along on my next visit as well. I’m sure Lucy will be happy I took care of some of her very distant relatives.

At one point I came across a structure, not quite in the middle of the gardens, that surprised me: l’orangerie loomed above me out of nowhere and considering how large it is, I’m not sure how it managed to remain unseen for as long as it did. Inside, there were many tropical plants I am normally used to seeing indoors in chilly Canada; it never ceases to amaze me when I see them out of doors, though, to be fair, this felt partially indoors. Orangeries typically have walls and ceilings; this one, however, is just an iron structure and is open to the fresh air, yet somehow it feels enclosed. Sorry, it’s hard to explain. There was a sense of peace inside, influenced by the geometric shapes of the fountain and pond, the globe-like hanging planters, the patterns the structure’s walls made against the partially cloudy sky. Perhaps this was why there was yet another photoshoot going on here too. I sat down on one of the benches, partially to rest and read a bit, and partially to observe the photographer and his subject. This time it was a professional shoot; the subject was a young man who, I believe, had various tattoos and/or jewelry that were the subjects of the photographs. At first he had his shirt on but before long that came off and I got a bit more of a show than I had anticipated. No, I’m not complaining, I just wish I could have taken better photos of the action. I would not make a very good spy at all since I clearly can’t take good photos while pretending I’m reading. Oh well, you’ll just have to trust me that the whole thing was a lot of fun 😉.

As I walked home, my hunger increasing by the minute, I decided to try the Chilean restaurant I had spotted earlier and managed to walk by again. Wena Poh couldn’t be a more Chilean name and I had hoped the food would be good. I almost had a Pisco sour to salute my Chilito lindo, but unfortunately they only took cash and I didn’t have enough with me, so I settled on an empanada. I must say it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but being hungry meant I wasn’t going to complain. Ori, yours are way better and I will have to learn how to make them myself if I want a decent one here. Or maybe there is another place that makes them? Lots of Argentinians in this town …