The grounds extend over almost 15 hectares and were acquired by its founder Karl Faust after the year 1924.

The most notable characteristics of the garden are its collections of cacti and other crass plants from the arid regions of South Africa and Central America.

In the pergola you will find a group of sub tropical plants with exuberant foliage. There are also collections of palm trees, cypresses, eucalyptus and araucarias followed by a large variety of perennial bushed and plants belonging to a great number of botanical families from all over the world thus giving a wide vision of the enormous diversity of vascular plants.

We should also like to mention here the large freshwater pond which holds the aquatic plant collection. The enclosures open to the public extend to about 5 hectares. Various recently created sections have been classified thus increasing the didactic value of Mar i Murtra. Among these sections are those of the poisonous plants, medicinal and aromatic plants, examples showing the Mendel Laws of Heritage, examples of morphological convergence and an enclosure concentrating on the regional flora and a collection of ferns from the Catalonian mountains.

Complementing these collections of living plants are a small herbarium, seed collections, a specialised library, a hothouse, experimental beds and a meteorological station.

About 300.000 people visit the garden annually.