Norway's Famous Garden - Flor and Fjaere in Stavanger

It has now almost been a month since I returned from my trip from Norway and thought today I would share one of two highlights with you before it becomes such a distant memory.

Norway and the fjords were everything you imagine.
I must recommend that if you see the fjords that a cruise really is the best option even with the pitfalls of traveling on a cruise. 
It also heightens the Viking experience.

Today I want to share my visit to one of the more established and acclaimed northern most gardens in the world called
Flor and Fjaere.

The right side of the island are the Flor and Fjaere gardens Via 

I arrived in the port of the 6th largest Norwegian city of Stavanger which is a very wealthy town due to the oil industry.

Doesn't the town look like a lego set from above?

Below is the more mundane view.

The world beach volleyball tournament was being held at the port.

The Flor and Fjaere gardens were technically closed as they were preparing for the Norwegian chess championships but they opened especially for the guests of the cruise ship.
It enhanced the experience by sharing the space with 20 other guests.

This is for gardening nerds and gardening novices alike a treat to visit.
Mr CSW and I were very inspired and taken by the beauty but the story behind the gardens which are still owned by the same family that started it in 1965.

The dock on arrival

40 years ago Asmund Bryn bought several acres on an island 20 minute boat ride from Stavanger where they already operated a garden nursery.
Due to ill health, he thought it would be sage to live in a place with cleaner air and recuperate.
40 years later these gardens have become a destination and has hosted Norway's royal family birthday celebrations among other events.

Below is Siri, the daughter in law of Asmund and now runs the gardens with her husband.  The couple have been pivotal in making this a public garden during the summer months.
She was a stunning woman who reminded me of a more Nordic version of Robin Wright-Penn especially with her hair very much a a la House of Cards.

She hosted the tour and showed us the gardens and shared the back stories.
Interestingly enough, Asmund always wanted to be a garden designer but never had the opportunity to study it in an official capacity as he had other family obligations of running his family garden nursery business.

But forty years later, this garden is renown for its unique style that is very local to the special climate and the Caribbean gulf stream that this area benefits from.

This area was mostly rocks and not arable and the land has been cleared but the rocks that remain are account for much of the success of the gardens. 
( Please click link to see an old picture of how the land looked before.)

Not only does it lend a certain texture and balance to the topography of the land but it also retains heat from the sun so it keeps the garden beds warmer and allows the surround plants to survive at certain survival cusp of temperature.

The gulf stream adds a few degrees celsius which can mean life or death for many plant types in the winter months.

The tall trees get preened once a year by a huge operation that involves hydraulic lifts.
But Asmund thought height was important to guide the eye up and down.

He and his family have experimented in sections of the garden by having cactus gardens which isn't what you would think of in a typical Nordic garden!

As this is a family business, various family members will have some sort of input in the design of the garden inspired by their studies and travels.

The placement of rocks was not only by default of the original landscape but the importance was apparently heightened on a trip to Kyoto where garden design is akin to religion.

Once again, the rocks not only served as a design element but kept the water a few degrees warmer so that the koi fish could survive.
The koi fish are moved in autumn to another area as the winters are too harsh.

The weather was sunny but it was about 12 degrees Celsius and believe it or not there was a person swimming in the ocean.

The white sands were a bit disorientating coupled with the extra crisp fresh air and chill.

That felled tree is an ode to a bit of rough Viking and 
a mix of the Asian garden design of a bridge to an island 
in the middle of a pool of water.

What you see below is their own boat that ferries guests to and from the port of Stavanger although guests are free to sail to the island themselves.

The restaurant serves fresh and seasonal food and I wish I had the chance to try but there is always next time.

What I enjoyed was that there was no waste.
A wall to a storage shed still served to show their gardening skill.

After our tour, we stopped by the old section of the town 
which was probably carried on to American when many Norwegians immigrated to America 200 years ago.

The cruise ship peaking through!

I hope you got a feel of the gardens and I do hope you get a chance to visit some day. If you are in the Stavanager region I have to strongly suggest that you visit!
Although I have linked to their website, here is the link once again for you to browse some more beautiful images of the gardens.