Jardín Botánico Atlántico — Attraction in Gijón

This is Asturias' best nursery for gardening enthusiasts. A beautifully designed and maintained sales area, tucked into the corner of the Botanic Gardens along a rushing stream. The entrance is on the left side (east side) of the Botanic Gardens parking lot, down a pergola covered stone ramp. Entrance to the nursery is free, and THEY ARE OPEN THROUGHOUT THE DAY - no siesta time break, and they are open all year long, six days a week (closed Mondays I think). The nursery has an extensive web presence on their website, Facebook, Google+, with loads of information and hundreds of photos they have taken themselves of the plants they have on offer, their new acquisitions, etc. I use this nursery frequently when I need to order in special plants for my garden. The store often runs fun contests on Facebook where they photograph a specimen plant or planting somewhere in Gijón or Oviedo and the first person to identify where and what it is wins a small prize. Sometimes they offer special lectures or presentations on topics such as pruning hydrangeas, caring for bonsai, plants suitable for rock gardens etc. I return to this nursery again and again, and you will too once you...

I've been living here for a while now, and it was surprisingly the first time that I've been able to make it! It's a cheap way to spend the day (we didn't even see anything and we were there for over two hours!) We brought lunch and ate at a picnic bench! There's also a cafe to grab some food or drinks as well. I was soo pleasently surprised to see how CLEAN and fully stocked all the bathrooms were. It was way bigger than I thought it would be, and it was beautiful!! There's only a couple reasons why I wouldn't give it 5 stars:

1. while there are ramps, I could imagine it being quite an effort to get around if you're in a wheelchair due to various steep inclines and very uneven ground
2. alot of things seemed super dry and dying. I understand that it's the summer, but if it's a botanical garden, you would think that the upkeep would be a little bit better.
3. a lot of their features are water features/fountains and flowing water. Every single water feature that we passed was turned off or empty. A little disappointing considering it could have made the experience more enjoyable!

I was able to take many pictures, so I will upload a...

A simply magical place with so many surprising elements and different natural landscapes to explore. Informative, well cared for, relaxing, astonishingly beautiful, sacred. It's a place I would visit repeatedly and never be bored, it has everything. It's the best botanic garden I ever visited. My only feedback - please consider having a second entrance on the Carr. de la Isla. It is a great walk from Gijón Centro along the river path safely as far as the Monumento Natural de la Carbayera del Tragamon but then to enter the botanical park you must walk around to the main front entrance on the road without a path for pedestrians, it was quite dangerous. With a few minor changes you could advertise the walk directly from the centro to the garden, the river path...