The Norwegian Island With Tropical Garden, Palms, and a 1,500-Year-Old Olive: Flor & Fjære + Stavanger Guide

Palms in Norway? Yes, Flor & Fjære is a unique, improbable tropical garden and restaurant on the small island of Sør-Hidle in Ryfylke, a short boat ride from central Stavanger. What began in 1965 as a private family retreat, planted with shelter trees against the North Sea winds, has grown over sixty years into one of Norway’s most surprising visitor experiences: 50,000 summer flowers replanted every year, banana plants, citrus trees, angel’s trumpets, hardy windmill palms that overwinter outdoors, and a 1,500-year-old olive tree — all on an island most travelers would assume too far north for any of it.

For Locals Insider, Hanne Kvernberg Hidlefjord, the general manager of Flor & Fjære, wrote about how the garden started, what grows on Sør-Hidle that shouldn’t, the family motto that means the garden is “never really finished,” the herbs the restaurant grows itself and the seasonal menu they build around them, what’s coming next — and her favorite places in Stavanger for a drink, dinner, a night’s stay, and a proper North Sea walk.

Flor & Fjære is open to visitors from May through September; boats depart from Skagenkaien in central Stavanger. More at florogfjare.no.

From Family Retreat to Tropical Garden

The story actually began long before Flor & Fjære became a visitor attraction. Our family ran a commercial nursery in Stavanger, but they wanted a place where they could escape from work and relax. In 1965, they bought a small property on the windswept northern tip of the island of Sør-Hidle.

The first thing they did was plant trees to create shelter from the cold northerly winds. Gradually, they began bringing flowers and plants from the family nursery out to the island, and little by little the garden grew.

Over time, they discovered that the sheltered parts of the island had their own surprisingly mild microclimate. This encouraged them to experiment with more unusual and exotic plants. Palms and other plants that people did not expect to see on a small island on the west coast of Norway began to thrive.

Word started to spread about this rather unlikely “palm island” in Ryfylke. Eventually, some of the large oil companies based in Stavanger approached the family and asked whether they could host summer parties for their employees on the island. That was really the beginning of the idea behind Flor & Fjære as we know it today.

Flor & Fjære officially opened to guests in 1995. Since then, both the number of visitors and the garden itself have continued to grow. What began as a private family retreat has gradually developed into the garden and experience we have today.

50,000 Summer Flowers and a 1,500-Year-Old Olive Tree

Every year, we grow and plant around 50,000 summer flowers. They create the abundant, colorful flower beds that have become one of the signatures of Flor & Fjære.

Alongside them, we have countless perennials and a large collection of more exotic plants — including palms, banana plants, citrus trees, cannas and angel’s trumpets — as well as many other species that you might not expect to find growing on an island in western Norway.

One of our most remarkable specimens is an ancient olive tree that is approximately 1,500 years old. There is something quite special about having a living tree in the garden that has already existed for fifteen centuries.

The garden is made up of a number of different areas, each with its own character and atmosphere. Rather than trying to create one uniform garden, we like visitors to experience contrasts as they move through it — from lush, exotic planting to colorful flower gardens and more tranquil spaces. The landscape, architecture, water and plants are all used together to create a journey through the garden.

The palm species that we successfully overwinter outdoors is the Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). It is surprisingly hardy and can cope with the conditions here when planted in the right location. Our other, less hardy palms are moved into protected winter storage. This is an important part of our work after the visitor season ends — many of the exotic plants that guests see during the summer have to be carefully protected through the Norwegian winter.

A Garden That Reinvents Itself Every Year

The garden is constantly changing. With around 50,000 summer flowers to grow and plant each year, we have the opportunity to redesign large parts of the garden from one season to the next. By changing varieties, colors and combinations, we can create an entirely new expression each year.

“Every spring we start with a blank canvas and colour the garden all over again.”

That freedom to reinvent the garden each season is a very important part of Flor & Fjære.

We also experiment with new species and varieties every year and are constantly learning what performs best in our particular climate and conditions. If something does not thrive, we are quite ruthless about replacing it. Our motto is “Best Garden Ever” — every single year. That also means we have very little patience with plants that are not showing themselves from their best side.

The garden is therefore never really finished. We want returning visitors to discover something new every time they come back.

The Restaurant, the Herbs, and the Seasonal Menu

Food is an important part of the Flor & Fjære experience, and we work closely with local producers and suppliers whenever possible.

We also grow all the fresh herbs used by our restaurant ourselves, in a dedicated production area in our greenhouse. Having the garden and restaurant in the same place gives us a wonderful opportunity to connect what we grow with what we serve.

Our menu changes with the season and is inspired by the ingredients available to us. The aim is not necessarily to serve traditional Norwegian dishes in the strict sense, but rather to create food with a strong connection to our region, using good local ingredients and flavors that complement the garden experience. This year’s menu is available at florogfjare.no/en/our-food.

Why We Only Open May Through September

Our visitor season runs from May through September, but Flor & Fjære is very much a year-round operation. When we close to visitors, the work continues. Autumn, winter and early spring are used for maintenance, construction, planning, plant production and improvements to the garden. In many ways, winter is when we create the next version of Flor & Fjære.

We have also been very fortunate in that the business has largely grown through word of mouth. Guests who have enjoyed their visit have told friends, family and neighbors about us, and those people have then wanted to experience Flor & Fjære for themselves. That has allowed the number of visitors to grow gradually and organically over the years.

Another important principle for us is that we reinvest in the garden. The profits from each season are used to develop Flor & Fjære further — new gardens, new plants, new facilities and improvements to the overall experience.

Our ambition is not simply to attract more visitors every year. We want the garden itself to become better every year. Hopefully, that also gives people who have already visited a reason to come back and see what has changed.

What’s Coming Next

Flor & Fjære is constantly evolving, and we still have plenty of big dreams. In fact, we are already working on new garden areas.

Every year, we travel to different parts of the world on food, wine, garden and plant trips. Travel is an important source of inspiration for us — not because we want to copy what we see elsewhere, but because new landscapes, gardens, restaurants, plants and ideas often spark something that can be interpreted in our own way at Flor & Fjære.

And we are always looking for unusual plants. If we come across something particularly spectacular that we think could work here, it does not take very long before someone starts discussing how we can get a container of plants shipped back to Norway.

“I don’t think Flor & Fjære will ever be finished. That is part of the fun. There should always be another garden to create, another plant to try and another idea we want to explore.”

Explore Stavanger — Where to Drink, Eat, Stay, and Walk

Stavanger has developed enormously when it comes to food, bars and interesting places to stay, while still being a small and very walkable city.

For a drink, one of my favorite places is Matros. It has a relaxed atmosphere and is a great place to experience a more local side of Stavanger.

For dinner, I would choose Bravo. It is the kind of restaurant I personally enjoy — informal, interesting and focused on really good food.

If you are looking for somewhere special to stay, Eilert Smith Hotel would be my choice. It is a small boutique hotel in a beautiful historic building and feels much more personal than a large international hotel.

I would also definitely recommend getting out of the city for a little while. Solastranden, very close to Stavanger Airport, and Borestranden, a little further south, are two of my favorite places in the region. Both are long, beautiful sandy beaches facing the North Sea and are worth visiting in almost any weather. You do not necessarily need sunshine — a walk along a Norwegian beach with the wind coming in from the North Sea can be just as memorable.

If Hanne’s Stavanger picks made you want to plan a wider Scandinavian trip, our Copenhagen travel guide covers where to stay, eat and see in the Danish capital, and our Finland travel guide rounds out the Nordic circuit with Helsinki, Lapland and the sauna scene.

For more of the same North Sea coastal light and cuisine-focused hotels Hanne recommends at Solastranden and Borestranden, our roundup of Denmark’s top beach hotels covers ten seaside resorts with hygge weekends and serious kitchens.

And if you loved the Eilert Smith Hotel’s character-in-a-historic-building appeal, our guide to Antwerp’s best boutique hotels has eight more small stays in restored townhouses across the city.

By the way, there are apps that can help you find out which plant you are looking at.