Conversation between Pau Bosch, designer and builder of the insect hostel, and Jordi Fàbregas, Master Gardener of the Marimurtra Botanical Garden
During 2020, the second Marimurtra insect hostel was installed in the Braun-Blanquet lake area, in the 3rd Garden (the first is located right next to the organic garden).
An insect hostel is a typical element of the gardens that fulfills many functions at the same time.
On the one hand, it offers shelter and a space to nest the pollinating insects in the garden and, therefore, it helps those insects that participate in the reproductive function of plants to find a safe and welcoming space to carry out their task. Continuing with biodiversity, it must be said that an insect hostel brings variety and biological richness to a garden precisely because it is designed from the point of view that a garden is much more than its plants, and to understand it, many other important layers must be taken into account: from the soil itself to the animals (insects, amphibians, birds, etc.) that inhabit it. In other words, the insect hostel is also part of the narrative that has led Marimurtra to quit using synthetic chemicals to respect and enhance biodiversity, human, animal and plant health and, ultimately, pave the way towards a world without products that can be harmful to life on the planet.
In the case of the insect hostel at Lake Braun-Blanquet, it can be seen that it contains two different types of spaces: holes and plant elements. The holes are the really interesting part for pollinating insects (solitary bees, etc.) as it offers them a place to nest and lay their eggs. The different plant elements that the hostel contains, on the other hand, serve as shelter for insects that find safety in the insect hostel.
Finally, we must highlight the landscape value of an insect hostel like Marimurtra’s, which becomes an outstanding element of the Botanical Garden, also becoming an aesthetically remarkable piece, with a unique design and made with proximity materials that perfectly integrate with Marimurtra.
We invite you to discover every corner of the insect hostel of the Marimurtra Botanical Garden.