The history of the Botanical Garden of Buenos Aires dates back to 1898, when the then Director of Public Parks of Buenos Aires, the French landscaper Charles Thays, proposed the creation of a Botanical Garden in the terrains it occupies today, bounded by Santa Fe Ave., Las Heras Ave. and Republica Arabe Siria St., for educational and conservation purposes.

The red brick English style building that already existed in those terrains was occupied by Charles Thays and his family. Today this building, that was declared National Monument, is the main building of the complex and serves as an art gallery and exhibition hall. There is also a Gardening School, a Library, and several greenhouses. The main greenhouse in Art Nouveau style, received a prize in the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.

There are more than five thousand species of plants and trees from all over the world, from Asia to Africa to America. There are small examples of three different styles of gardens: a French Garden, a Roman Garden, and a Japanese Garden.

As you walk the trails of the garden, you will find some beautiful marble sculptures, such as “Spring”, “Mercury”, “Venus”, and the group representing the movements of the VI Symphony of Beethoven, called “La Pastoral”. There is also a monument entitled “Weather Indicator”, designed by José Markovich, and presented by the Austro-Hungarian Empire community.

This garden is so peaceful that once you cross the gates and get inside, you instantly forget that you are in the middle of the city and surrounded by two of the noisiest streets in Buenos Aires.

Address: Santa Fe and Las Heras Ave., Plaza Italia. Subte station: Plaza Italia, Line D.

Opening Times: 

Summer (September 22nd to April 21st): Tuesday to Friday, 8 am to 6:30 pm - Saturdays, Sundays and National Holidays: 9.30 am to 6:30 pm.

Winter (April 22nd to September 21st): Tuesday to Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm - Saturdays, Sundays and National Holidays: 9.30 a m to 5:30 pm.

MONDAYS CLOSED

On days of extremely bad weather (intense winds, persistent rain) the garden will remain closed for safety reasons.

FREE ENTRANCE

For more pictures of the Botanical Garden, visit my Botanical Garden Photo Gallery on Facebook.

The third stage of Argentina Polo Tour 2009 will be played between Saturday, February 28 and Saturday, March 7, at Tortugas Country Club and at the Campo Argentino de Polo, in Palermo.
Ten teams with 16 goals handicap will be disputing the cups Nespresso and Stella Artois, with the debut of the great former soccer player Gabriel Batistuta, who will be playing for Loro Piana together with Adolfo Cambiaso.
Other outstanding players will also take part in the tournament, including Nachi Heguy, Paco De Narváez and Jaime García Huidobro.


Teams:

Zone A:Tom Tailor: Uwe Schroeder, 0. Eduardo Anca, 6. Ignacio Badiola, 5. Santos Anca, 5. Total: 16.
La Picaza: Carlos Solari, 6. Santiago Solari, 6. Juan Jose Storni, 3. Kevin Korst, 1. Total: 16.
Les Lions: Jean David Du Plessis, 3. Joe Gottschalk, 0. Ignacio Heguy, 9. Francisco Elizalde, 4. Total: 16.
El Remanso: George Hanbury, 2. Matilda Woods, 0. Jaime Garcia Huidobro, 8. Manuel F. Llorente, 6. Total: 16.

Zone B:
Traun Polo Team: Ben Traun, 0. Juan Manuel Echeverz, 7. Martin Orozco, 4. Pablo Bagnardi, 5. Total: 16.
Chapelco: Juan Cruz Adrogue, 1. Facundo Sola, 6. Silvestre Grant, 0. Francisco De Narváez, 9. Total: 16.
La Virgencita: Celine Charloux, 0. Lucas James, 7. Matias Logioco, 3. Gaston Urturi, 6. Total: 16.

Zone C:
La Ginevra: Luca D´Orazio, 0. Juan Ruiz Guiñazu(Jr), 5. Juan Jose Brané, 7. Manuel Caranza, 4. Total: 16.
Franken: Gregorio Gelosi, 3. Matias Maiquez, 6. Juan Ruiz Guiñazu, 6. Hannes Hühnlein, 1. Total: 16.
Loro Piana: Gabriel Batistuta, 0. Gustavo Usandizaga, 2. Adolfo Cambiaso, 10. Alfio Marchini, 4. Total: 16.

Schedule of matches:

Saturday 28
11.00 AM: Traun Polo Team Vs. Franken -Tortugas
4.30 PM: Tom Tailor Vs. La Picaza - Palermo (1)
6.00 PM: La Virgencita Vs. La Ginevra - Palermo

Sunday 1
4.30 PM: Chapelco Vs. Loro Piana - Palermo
6.00 PM: Les Lions Vs. El Remanso - Palermo (2)
UPDATE: ABOVE MATCHES RE-PROGRAMMED FOR RAIN FOR MONDAY 2 AND TUESDAY 3.

Monday 25 PM: Les Lions vs El Remanso - La Dolfina
6 PM: Loro Piana vs La Virgencita - La Dolfina

Tuesday 3
2.30 PM: Traun Polo Team vs La Ginevra - Palermo
4.30 PM: Les Lions vs La Picaza - Palermo
6.00 PM: El Remanso vs Tom Tailor - Tortugas
6.30 PM: Loro Piana vs Chapelco - Palermo

Friday 6
6.00 PM: Franken Polo Team vs La Virgencita - Ellerstina Polo Club

Saturday 7
3.00 PM: Tom Tailor vs Les Lions - Centauros
5.00 PM: Chapelco Vs. La Ginevra - Centauros
5.00 PM: La Virgencita Vs. Franken - Palermo
5.00 PM: Traun Polo Team Vs. Loro Piana - Ellerstina

Sunday 8
FINALS IN PALERMO - NESPRESSO CUP - STELLA ARTOIS CUP
Nespresso Cup
12.00: Les Lions Vs. La Ginevra
Stella Artois Cup
4.00 PM: Loro Piana vs Tom Tailor

For more information and results, visit Argentina Polo Tour official website.

The great tennis players Gabriela Sabatini, the best all time Argentine female tennis player, and Martina Navratilova, former world Number 1, will offer an exhibition match at Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club (Olleros 1510, Palermo), in benefit of the Miastenia Gravis Foundation, on Saturday, March 14th, 2009.
The event will start at 12.30 PM. Sabatini and Navratilova will hit the courts at 2 PM with a singles exhibition set, and then a doubles set along with Paola Suarez and Patricia Taravini, bronze medal winners in the 2004 Athens Olympic games.
Other great present and former Argentine tennis players will be participating in this event to collaborate with the Miastenia Gravis Foundation, inlcuding: José Luis Clerc, Martín Jaite, Ricardo Cano, Christian Miniussi, Emilse Raponi de Longo, Mercedes Paz, Bettina Fulco, Mariana Díaz Oliva, María Emilia Salerni, Mariana Pérez Roldán, Raquel Giscafré, Norma Baylon, Claudia Casabianca, Gustavo Luza, Ivanna Madruga, Beatriz Araujo, Adriana Villagrán, Inés Gorrochategui, Mariano Hood, Fernando Dalla Fontana, Alberto Mancini and Florencia Labat, among others.

Tickets range from $ 15 to $ 50 Argentine Pesos, and can be purchased at:
Halcry Tenis: Lavalle 553
Halcry Tenis: Av. Del Libertador 8196
Hard Rock Café Buenos Aires: Buenos Aires Design Center. Av. Pueyrredon & Libertador
Lee Chi: Av. Santa Fe 1670, local 42
Or through TuEntrada.com

Matches will be held on March 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th, 2009 at La Aguada Polo Club (in Open Door, province of Buenos Aires), one of the best Polo clubs in the world, with the participation of 8 -10 teams with 10 to 12 goals of handicap, playing 4 games of 5 chukkers each.

In this edition of the Autumn Cup, the Novillo Astrada brothers will act as hosts of the tournament. Following the family tradition, the events will end with an exhibition of ladies polo, and a great prize-giving.