Barcelona

Putxet is a 178-metre-high hill that extends from Vallcarca to Sant Gervasi. Despite talk of a chapel in the 17th century, the first-known traces of any population there only date back to 1870, when Barcelona’s bourgeoisie began to have their villas built there to escape the urban conditions of old Barcelona. The land was part of the old Torre Espanya estate, which belonged to the Morató family. In 1917 it was included in the green-area plans, which kept the city’s hills as natural spaces, but it was gradually urbanised. By the time the City Council made a compulsory purchase of the land now occupied by the present gardens in 1970 the old, originally Mediterranean, wood had become barren land, used as a stone quarry from the first third of the 20th century. The wood taken from the pine grove at the top of the hill was an important source of fuel during the Spanish Civil War.

Given the variety of its plants and its location, Turó del Putxet could be described as an orderly landscaped wood. The land’s features ensure that the vegetation, which is very rich in tree and shrub species, is located mainly in large sloping parterres that gradually descend the hill, framing the paths that cross it. It has a good portion of conifers and leafy plants and its sunnier flowerbeds contain very thick shrubs, as well as perennials and seasonal flowering plants.

The gardens’ vegetation changes as you ascend, because the higher you go, the poorer the soil for planting. That does not mean, however, that the vegetation loses its quality, far from it. A good example of this are the exceptional and very tall conifers you will find mainly on the upper half of the gardens, which help to hide away the vertical walls of the old stone quarry. The Aleppo pine trees, stone pines, Himalayan cedars, holm oaks and olive trees also stand out here. As you go down you will come across coojongs, Indian bead trees and acacias. You will also see peppercorn trees and a few oleasters.

The small squares mainly contain tipu trees, pagoda trees, southern nettle trees, some plane trees and palm trees, quite a bit below, towards the garden entrance, notably several specimens of Mediterranean dwarf palms, yuccas and cypresses. When it comes to rare specimens, the shrubs excel, offering uncommon species such as Limoniastrum monopetalum, lobelias, ragworts, duranta, baby sage with a minty aroma, and sweet briar, a fairly abundant creeper shrub in the garden that fills with yellow flowers in the winter.

Despite the pronounced slope of the land, these gardens are definitely a good place for taking a stroll and quite commonly used by El Putxet i el Farró residents to cross the neighbourhood, up or down, so they can avoid the traffic while enjoying some natural vegetation.

These gardens are much more accessible that they first appear, as the obstacle-free paths are more often used than the flights of steps. Apart from the highest reaches of the hill, the gardens can be crossed without having to set foot on the steps.

The garden area was increased in March 2011 with the inclusion of a further 1.2 hectares of landscaped land. That meant the gardens grew to 5.2 hectares of green space, adding new views of the city and the sea to the magnificent panoramic views already on offer.

It also brought some order to this part of the park with several levels and terraces, interconnected by ramps skirting around the landscaped areas. This allowed a new children’s play area, a picnic area with tables and a new dog area to be opened.