The Gardens of Aranjuez

This was a particularly sparkly holiday in Aranjuez, Spain with my beautiful family. Many Argentine, Spanish, Irish and Greek specialties were shared with open Hearts. 

During this time, I was introduced to the gardens of Aranjuez and I was immediately inspired and fell in love with the light and the landscape. These gardens contain fountains, pools, statues and magnificent buildings all along side the Tagus river. This was the Spring residence for the Kings of Spain, originally constructed by Phillip II in the second half of the 16th century. The gardens were an oasis for the royal families, as the surrounding areas are quite arid. UNESCO declared this magical city a world heritage site. 

Included in the landscape, there are four gardens; The Isle garden, the Parterre garden, the Princess garden and the gardens of Isabella II.

While it is winter, there were still interesting botanicals to photograph. I love that there are roses in bloom in December!