Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging!
In June 2022 Mr M and I resumed post-covid International travel with a small ship circumnavigation of Iceland. We began with a couple of days in the capital, Reykjavik.
Iceland is a European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Norway and Greenland. Most of Iceland is just south of the Arctic Circle, though the tiny island of Grimsey is within the limits of the Arctic Circle.
The average temperature in the capital Reykjavik is around 54 F (12 C) in summer and about 33–35 F (1–2 C) in winter. But the weather in Iceland can be unpredictable, with sunshine and snowstorms being minutes apart.
guidetoiceland.is/...
Naturally, the Reykjavik Botanical Garden was tops on my list of sights to see. If you click on the link, it’s in Icelandic — the English translation page didn’t offer much information.
Wikipedia tells us that the garden was established in 1961 and has about 5000 species of plants. It covers 5 hectares (here’s the math: 5 hectares x 2.47 acres/hectare = 12.35 acres). I can wrap my mind around acres easier than hectares. It seemed much bigger than that. The garden is maintained by the city of Reykjavik.
Himalayan Blue Poppies are arguably my favorite flowers. Sadly, they will not grow in Michigan.
The garden has several superbly manicured flower beds.
Lilacs
Tree peonies
Alpine Pasqueflower or Alpine Anemone
We saw gorgeous moss everywhere on the island.
Brilliant purples and blues on this Penstemon.
“Spiniest Thistle” is the common name for this plant, well earned.
Shooting Star
More beautiful flowerbeds
I didn’t take a picture of the tag for this plant, so this is a google image guess.
The gazebo is near the cafe.
Inside the cafe, goldfish and lilies.
Poppy, looks like the Oriental Poppy.
The native plant garden
Water Avens, native to Iceland and elsewhere
Another Shooting Star species
There were lots of birds around
Another type of blue poppy, I forgot to note which species.
Lots of open space, too
On the opposite side of Iceland, we visited the Akureyri Botanical Gardens (that’s another diary and you’ll see more blue poppies). In between, the ship stopped at waterfalls, small towns, small islands, and nature reserves.
Dýralíf, one of the waterfalls we visited. There’s a steep hiking trail next to the waterfall. I made it most of the way, with help from my hiking poles.
Beautiful Nootka Lupine are everywhere in Iceland. They were planted in the 1970s to control erosion and fix nitrogen in the soil. Now they are considered invasive plants.
Thanks for sharing this visit to Grasagarður Reykjavíkur and points beyond! Spring is slow to arrive in Michigan this year. We had some sun on March 21, so the crocuses celebrated with open blooms.
Is Spring early, late, or right on time in your area? What’s happening with your plants and in your garden? How are those vegetables starts doing? I’ve only planted parsley so far (under lights inside), it just started germinating.