Viver Municipal de Plantes de Tres Pins

The Viver Municipal de Plantes de Tres Pins stands on the north-western side of Montjuïc hill, next to the Jardí Botànic de Barcelona. It is the only remaining nursery in the city and every year it grows 225,000 shrubs and perennials from seeds and cuttings. This relatively unknown site is uniquely beautiful.

The aim of plant nurseries is to grow all kinds of plant species that are later replanted in the parks around the city. This Barcelona nursery was created in 1920 to landscape the grounds of the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. It was later extended and refurbished and opened to the public in 1993.

The oldest part of the nursery has greenhouses and shade houses. The new part has vast terraces for breeding and tending plants as well as plots for plant experiments. The Viver Municipal de Plantes de Tres Pins is divided into areas dedicated to different species of climbers, shrubs, ornamental and aquatic plants.

Inside the Viver Municipal de Plantes de Tres Pins you'll find the Jardí de Petra Kelly, a memorial garden dedicated to the German environmentalist who founded the Green Party. It features two small monuments next to her favourite tree, a cherry. The first is in honour of Petra Kelly and the other is dedicated to Joseph Beuys, another staunch defendant of environmentalism. The garden also has a rare example of a Malaleuca mesophila, or honey myrtle, which is more than 500 years old.

Three pines – 'pins' in Catalan – and a fountain where people would have picnics once stood on the site, hence the name Viver Municipal de Plantes de Tres Pins.