12. A NORTH NORWEGIAN TRADITIONAL GARDEN

Old garden plants are parts of our green cultural heritage and are conserved in collections at the regional botanic gardens of Norway.

Tromsøpeon’ (Paeonia mollis)

Old garden plants are parts of our green cultural heritage and are conserved in collections at the regional botanic gardens of Norway.

The present traditional garden includes c. 660 different collections from gardens in North Norway. Most of them have a documented history dating back before 1940. Many are typical family plants which have been passed on through generations. Some could be gifts received by a great grandmother who once worked on an estate? before she brought them home to her own tiny garden. Others are known to be gifts from a husband returning home from a town visit. 

Still others can be survivals from a previously very large garden, such as the vicar Sigvart Nielsen’s beautiful garden at Hadsel from the 1920s and 30s. We have conserved 24 types of auriculas and 30 other perennials from this garden. Plants of particular significance with us, are victory onion (Allium victorialis), a large variation within the genus monkshood (Aconitum) and several species of meadowsweet (Filipendula). There are also nice stories about plants within the genera Aconogonum and Thalictrum (meadow-rue).

The PLANT HERTIAGE is a copyright concept administrated by the Norwegian Gene Resource Centre, and it has  been established to visualize and conserve the diversity within the traditional garden plants.