Tag: biodiversitat

Marimurtra returns to the sea to raise awareness of botanical biodiversity with the Botanical Snorkel

Marimurtra returns to the sea to raise awareness of botanical biodiversity with the Botanical Snorkel

Posted on by JBMarimurtra
Marimurtra, un Jardí Botànic que des del seu inici ha estat connectat amb el mar, torna a apostar un any més per l’snorkel botànic, una activitat que ofereix als seus visitants una experiència que va més enllà de descobrir les més de 3500 espècies vegetals que es troben a l’interior del Jardí.
Amb l’snorkel botànic, els participants s’endinsen al meravellós món submarí on descobreixen que la biodiversitat vegetal no acaba als penya-segats i que la vida vegetal continua exuberant al medi marí.
En aquest indret de la Mediterrània, s’hi troben una gran quantitat d’espècies d’algues diferents, que constitueixen la base d’un ecosistema ric i divers que permeten que moltes altres espècies (tant animals com vegetals) tinguin unes condicions molt favorables per viure-hi. Tota aquesta biodiversitat forma un paisatge submarí ple de colors i vida, que es poden observar de la mà de guies d’snorkel experts en biologia marina. Amb l’Snrokel Botànic de Marimurtra es podran distingir les algues, classifica-les i entendre l’extraordinari valor que tenen per l’ecosistema.
Més informació sobre l’Snorkel Botànic a https://bit.ly/snorkel-botanic-marimurtra
  • Snorkel Botànic 2021 | Jardí Botànic Marimurtra
The new inhabitants of Marimurtra

The new inhabitants of Marimurtra

Posted on by JBMarimurtra

The Marimurtra Botanical Garden contains an organic garden (specifically, in the 2nd Garden) where visitors can see and learn about horticultural varieties in our area that, for various reasons, have ceased to be present in the market or are in danger of disappearing. This organic garden is complemented by a chicken coop as a sign of the importance of biodiversity and the systems of relationships that have been created since ancient times between humans, animals and plants.

Since this past weekend, three new hens have been living in this fantastic chicken coop specially designed for the Marimurtra vegetable garden. The three hens are currently about two months old and were given to us by Joan Borrell, from Vilobí d’Onyar, who takes care of chickens of this species and others in danger of extinction in his orchard. The three hens belong to the Empordà breed, a breed that is native to our country and comes in three different forms: red, white and partridge. The three hens that can now be seen in Marimurtra are of these three types.

Apart from being an important part of the small ecosystem that has been created in Marimurtra and that relates the garden to pets, chickens and hens are an attraction that excites the little ones in the family and offers the opportunity to be able to explain (to young and old) why to have a vegetable garden that is cared for without using synthetic chemicals and that is in perfect harmony with the chickens. A perfect place to discover, explore and learn as a family, and to explain the origin of such basic foods as many vegetables or eggs.

These three hens of the Empordà breed are the new inhabitants of the Marimurtra Botanical Garden, and we invite you to come and meet them with the little ones in the house.

  • Gallines | Galliner | Jardí Botànic Marimurtra

Marimurtra’s insect hostel

Posted on by JBMarimurtra

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.

Marimurtra pomegranate project

Posted on by JBMarimurtra

Recently a project has been started in Marimurtra to adapt a space in the Garden that over time has gone from being an area closed to the public to a busy area, it is the area that separates the organic garden from the main road. The collection of fruit trees in Marimurtra is currently being increased and this space has been chosen for a pomegranate plantation. These trees, which are low and deciduous, will allow the garden to receive more light when it needs it most, in winter. Of the 9 varieties of pomegranates (Punica granatum) in Marimurtra, 7 have been planted in this area, 4 of edible fruit (Mollar, Negral, Tendral Xàtiva and Provence) and 3 ornamentals (Lagreiliae, Luteum plenum  and Maxima rubra).
The original plantation consisted of Chilean palms (Jubaea chilensis) and cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens), forming an intermittent fence with these two species. To accentuate the separation there was a thuja fence (Platycladus orientalis). Thus, only one side was visitable and the back, the current area of ​​the organic garden, was accessible only to gardeners.
20 years ago, the palm grove was remodeled and an old orchard was removed. From here, and the need to offer visitors a picnic and rest area, access opens to the inner area of ​​the fence. This area was remodeled in 2016 by building a dry stone wall that structures the entire space and dividing the new vegetable garden into terraces. The tuia fence is removed and a chicken coop, an aromatic plantation and an insect hotel are built.
One of the cypress trees was cut down due to the shade it casts on the area of ​​the organic vegetable garden and the storm Gloria knocked down a second cypress tree. The rest of the cypress trees that were naturally lost have not been replaced. The last cypress, already quite old, was removed due to the renovation of the space.
So, currently, we will find in this space a combination of Chilean palms and pomegranate varieties. Experience tells us that these trees have a good growth in the Garden and in addition, the leaves and flowers are very pleasing to the eye. And let’s not forget the grenades! That apart from the goodness of the fruits, they are a natural spectacle of autumn and winter that we can all enjoy very soon in the Marimurtra Botanical Garden!