Palm Trees...

...At This Latitude?

Since I’ve moved here I’ve been missing the chance to discover the country I’m going to live in for the next 3 to 4 years and get to know the local customs, craft, etc which I had plenty opportunities when I lived in Beijing. So I was all excited to go on a girls' trip to Flor og Fjaere aka “the world’s northernmost palm tree island”.

The 20-minute scenic boat trip by fast catamaran from Skagenkaien in Stavanger to the garden at Sør-Hidle was exciting and gives you another perspective view of Stavanger. When you arrive at Flor og Fjaere you are in a different world: lush greenery, colorful flowers, palm trees and citrus fruits.

How to get there

The guided tour started with the story behind the island, we then had time to wonder on our own and ended up our day with a lunch at the island’s restaurant with an International Cuisine made from the local products..

Arriving in style

Siri explained the history of the Island

Background history:
The story of Flor & Fjaere started in 1965. At the age of 35 Åsmund Bryn, who was managing the family trade nursery at Jåttå, wished to acquire a summer cottage (Hytte) in Ryfylke, the fjord area north of Stavagner. […] Åsmund found a lot on the northern tip [of Sør-Hidle], part of the farmstead Mangela, however the farmer could only sell the whole farmstead. Magela was bout 4 acres, including a small harbour and islet. As the property was on the northern tip, it was very exposed to hardy weather and winds. […]There wasn’t a tree in sight on Mangela, so the first thing Åsmund did was to plant pin trees and sika spruce as a wind barrier and to help enable less hardy plants to grow. He then built a cottage with a small boathouse, and this became the family’s holiday home for many years. With time, the trees grew into a wood


By 1987, Åsmund’s health deteriorated and he was forced to quit the nursery and move to Mangela. At first he was very sick, but the tranquility and fresh air at Mangela helped and his health gradually improved. Åsmund come to see challenges and visions within the landscape at Mangela. With the help of strong hands, a tractor and a bulldozer, the garden started to take shape. The idea of Flor & Fjaere was planted and in 1995, Åsmund’s son Olav and his wife Siri opened the garden and restaurant to their first guests. (source: Flor og Flaere).

Gorgous garden

There are about 40,000 annuals planted every year in the Flor & Fjaere garden. Annuals have the ability to bloom continuously from spring to the first day of frost and gives lots of color throughout the whole season.

Lovely flowers

One of the highlight of the Island is the apple tree espalier. The apple trees are planted in row 3 meters apart. Solid Supportive poles are planted between each tree with extra support at the ends of the espalier. A strong wire is then pulled from pole to pole and 4 branches from each tree are fasten securely on to the wire rows while all other branches on the tree are removed.

Their famous Apple tree espaliers

NB: We visited the Island on their last open week... I'm sure it's even more beautiful during the full season