Sunny year round, Barcelona is an ideal location to start a rooftop garden. That's why, from the depths of the Mediterranean metropolis sprout slender green beans, carrots, and shiny red peppers. In the soft arid breeze, olive, fig, lemon and orange trees sway.

Truth be told, we'd like to see a lot more rooftop gardening in Barcelona (and in all urban hubs for that matter). The city's mild climate and ample rooftop spaces mean lots of cultivation could be happening in the Catalan capital. Some people are on board - foraging their urban gardens - but I suspect the trend will increase in the years to come, as Barcelona becomes even more savvy about the pleasures of locally-grown produce. It doesn't get much more local than your roof.

It is late fall as I write this, and most rooftop gardens are now dead, the last carrots have been harvested, and winter is upon us. Still this is the perfect down-time for curious gardeners to get ready for spring. The first thing to do is pay a visit to Mayolas in downtown Barcelona on busy thoroughfare Via Liaetana. Here you will find the perfect urban garden beds, in wood and also in suspended fabric. If you are crafty, you could get an idea of soil beds at Mayolas and then build your own. If not, then you can buy them there.

Mayolas also has organic seeds, watering systems, organic fertilizer, plant lights, books on urban gardening, and bulbs to be planted come January (not edible, but lovely never the less). The guys that run Mayolas are incredibly knowledgeable about rooftop gardening and all that might ail your plants. If you have a problem, they can walk you through it.

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Photo and text by Regina Winkle-Bryan

Cityscapes are no stranger to vertical gardens. With limited space and very few green spots, many city buildings have turned to living green walls … aka vertical gardens. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing but they also have a whole slew of eco benefits too including:

• Less reflected heat
• Storm water absorption
• Air purification - plants are efficient filters of pollution
• Noise reduction - quieter buildings and streets

Well, now there is a new vertical garden concept on the horizon. It comes from Spanish designers Benet, Saida Dalmau, Anna Julibert, and Carmen Vilar, and it just won a Designboom IIDA Award . This design isn’t like the others where the gardens are built on a vertical wall; this one is a stand-alone vertical cylinder that’s encased in mesh and more of a public park. It’s called the Spiral Garden and it combines architecture, sustainable design, and urban farming all in one. People can stroll through this botanical-like structure and there are 170 “parking” spots for bikes and even a compost center complete with a drop-off post.

This spiral contains an ascending garden where native vegetation can coexist with urban orchards, shared and planted for the neighbours for easy maintenance and serving also as a green outdoor walk.

Check out more picture of the Spiral Garden .