View to the Temple of Linnaeus

People love plants for many reasons, and at one end of the spectrum are those who value and collect them for scientific interest and at the other, those who take great joy in the structure of a garden, the mass planting and art of garden making. I fall into the latter category which makes me a bit wary of botanical gardens, particularly the smaller ones that don’t have to pander to public taste. However, there are exceptions, and Marimurtra is one of them. Its benign coastal Mediterranean climate enables a wide range of plant species to be grown, but I suspect that most people, including myself, come here for the spectacular location with stunning views of the rugged Costa Brava coast.

The garden was created by Karl Faust, a German industrialist who moved to Barcelona in 1897, and in 1909, set up Faust and Kaufmann SA, a company that makes valves and hydraulic components for industrial fluid regulation. The company became very successful and in 1924, aged 50, he was able to pull back from the running of the company and dedicated his life to his two great passions – for plants and for sharing plant knowledge and his garden with others.  He died in 1952, having set up the Karl Faust Foundation which manages the garden and sponsors research, publishing scientific treatises on various plant groups such as on cycads, conifers and gymnosperms. As a private entity, the Foundation is funded by entrance fees from the large number of summer visitors, by donations, by hosting corporate events, weddings and as a film shoot location.

Originally intended to be a scientific site preserving the indigenous plants and coastal flora of the Mediterranean, its remit expanded so that there are three main garden areas, Arid, Sub-tropical and Temperate Mediterranean. I like to wander off the designated paths, and at Marimurtra this is difficult, because only a third of the thirty seven acre (15ha) site is open to the public. A coastal road bisects the garden, so that the part adjacent to the rocky coast is accessed through a tunnel.

The clearly marked routes lead visitors through the arid zone, with cacti and succulents from Central America and the South African Karoo, past the exuberant planting of palms, araucaries and cycads and large clumps of bamboo of the sub-tropical area to the Mediterranean zone. As well as indigenous medicinal plants, aromatic plants and ferns from Catalonia and the wider Mediterranean area, there are plants from other Mediterranean climate zones such as Chile, South Africa and Western Australia. Much use is made of ground irrigation, which in this climate makes for fast weed growth, hence the garden areas off the visitor route have an unkempt look.

It is, above all, a plantsman’s garden but it is the breath-taking beauty of the location that drew me here, and I suspect a great many others.

Garden Details:

Website: marimurtra@marimutra.cat
Address: Passeig de Carles Faust 9, E-17300 Blanes, Catalonia
Café: Basic, a large café with tables set out on a terrace
Dogs: No
Disabled Access: Challenging because of the many steps and steep inclines
Opening Times: Winter 10– 3pm, summer 9-7pm daily, telephone +34 972 33 08 26

Richard Jackson   Early September, 2025