The forest botanical garden "Erbsland" is located in the middle of the Mecklenburg Lake District, 6 kilometers northeast of the small town of Mirow. According to the Schmettauschen map of 1780, the area was once farmland. Peas were probably once grown by the farmers of the village of Qualzow on the pea land, a fertile island of boulder clay measuring around seven hectares in the middle of extensive sandy areas.
In 1887, the arboretum was planted with foreign tree species under the direction of the Mirow chief forestry inspector Friedrich Scharenberg (1821-1901) in order to test their suitability for German forestry.
With over 30 tree species still present, some of which have impressive growth rates (for example the Douglas fir with a tree height of 42 meters and ten cubic meters of wood volume), the pea land is one of the oldest and dendrologically most interesting forestry cultivation trials in Germany. Pea country is attractive at any time of the year, whether in spring, when the fresh green shows itself, with colorful foliage in autumn or with snow-covered treetops in winter.
