Information
in the Net
Botanical gardens in Catalonia
The following list contains a series of links to the most important botanical gardens in Catalonia. As mentioned earlier, botanical gardens are institutions established for the purposes of research, conservation and the dissemination of plant diversity in that they exhibit scientific collections of living plants. This selection also includes other gardens that feature plant collections organized according to their habitats and landscapes, or other criteria, which share the educational and informative ends of botanical gardens. These are generally collections or gardens belonging to cultural institutions such as museums, foundations or interpretation or visitor centres, where even though the garden or botanical aspect may not be the main reason for the visit, are very interesting in themselves. Finally, it also includes some interesting botanical gardens of some university faculties which can be visited even though they may be restricted to internal educational activities.
Finally, it is worth remembering that we have only featured gardens with an active website, so this criterion inevitably excludes other botanical gardens or collections of great interest that cannot be viewed on a website.
Catalonia
Arborètum de Catalunya (Cabrils)
Website of the educational portal Edu3.cat where you can view a video produced by the Department of Education of the Generalitat of Catalonia which describes the educational potential of the Arboretum.
Arborètum Masjoan d'Espinelves (Girona)
Detailed information on the gardens, which contain an interesting collection of more than 50 species of conifers, some of which are over 100 years old. Various trees have been listed as Monumental Trees by the Generalitat of Catalonia.
Arbreda del Montseny (Santa Maria de Palautordera)
Website hosted on the educational portal xtec containing basic information presented in a brief, schematic way. The garden contains examples of the wooded species of the Montseny massif such as oaks and cork oaks.
Jardí Botànic de Barcelona (Barcelona)
Very detailed information and a wealth of photos. The Barcelona botanical garden was created in 1999 based on a restoration project of an old solid waste dump in the park of Montjuïc. It features a huge variety of Mediterranean plants.
Jardí Botànic de Cap Roig (Palafrugell)
Website of the Caixa de Girona Foundation containing very detailed information. The origins of the castle and garden go back to 1927, when the Woevodsky family decided to move to this idyllic spot on the Costa Brava and were fortunate enough to have the English aristocrat and decorator Dorothy Webster as their landscape gardener. The gardens lie on a breathtaking promontory on the Costa Brava which allows a huge variety of Mediterranean, exotic, tropical and subtropical flora to flourish.
Jardí Botànic de Pinya de Rosa (Blanes)
Website containing basic information. The Pinya de Rosa botanical gardens lie between the towns of Blanes and Lloret de Mar. The gardens contain more than 7,000 species and specialise in cactus. Of all the collections, those of the Agave, Aloe, Lucca and Opuntias genus are regarded as the best in Europe and in some cases the best in the world.
Jardí Botànic de Plantes Medicinals de Gombrèn (Gombrèn)
Website containing detailed information managed by the Associació d'Amics del Jardí. This was the first garden of medicinal plants in Catalonia and features more than 250 species. The aim of the garden is educational, so various different activities are organised on the theme of medicinal plants, ranging from conferences to exhibitions.
Jardí Botànic del Molí del Foix (Santa Margarida i els Monjos)
Website of the Santa Margarida i els Monjos town council with a link to detailed information on this garden. The botanical garden of Molí del Foix, which depends of the Nature Learning Centre of Molí del Foix, is an historic and natural interpretation centre devised as an educational stroll through the flora of the Penedès region. The website lists the species in the garden and provides information on the activities carried out there such as workshops and exhibitions.
Jardí Botànic del Museu de Gavà (Gavà)
Information relating to the municipal Cultural and Natural Heritage Management Institute of Gavà, with a series of games. The botanical garden at the Gavà Museum covers 800 m2 and features the different plant communities from the landscape around the city, i.e. the typical vegetation of the Garraf.
Jardí Botànic Marimurtra (Blanes)
This website, managed by the Fundació Carl Faust, contains a lot of information and a virtual tour to the gardens. It explains the flora of the three different climatic zones that make up the garden. The website contains also data from its research centre of molecular biology, from its activity in wildlife biodiversity conservation and from a lot of links related to botany. The botanical garden was created in 1921 for the German businessman Carl Faust, and since 1951 the private founfation it's the owner of the garden. It is situated in the firsts cliffs of Costa Brava and, in an extension of 4ha, it has approximately 3000 species, most of them exotic. In 1995 it has been catalogued as a BCIN in the Historic Garden category and is considered as one of the most important gardens in Europe in the landscape perspective.
Jardí Botànic Pius Font Quer de l'IES Escola de Treball de Lleida (Lleida)
This website was set up at the initiative of the Science department of the Escola de Treball secondary school in the city of Lleida. It was established to provide a large collection of species, mainly trees, but also shrubs and even herbaceous plants, in a representation of universal flora. The website offers the opportunity to plant a tree in a virtual garden as a means of promoting the conservation of our natural environment.