Today, I thought I would show you what gardening looks like when you live in Kjerringøy, Norway (population 450) a village, above the Arctic Circle. The Kjerringøy Trading Post was in its heyday from 1829 until the 1860’s. This was the most northern port for fishermen, who would set out in their small boats, going farther north for the herring. When they returned there was shelter here, a store, a saloon, a church and a place to sell their herring. The folks at the trading post smoked the herring. Big ships, bringing in supplies from all over the world, would come here and load up with herring and other fish and be on their way, south again. It was a win-win for the trading post owners.
On this cruise, we have learned a lot about the Vikings. Those Vikings went everywhere. And, one of the reasons they pillaged was because they soon learned, it was easier to take from the other folks than it was to try and grow anything here in these conditions. They weren’t going to make it as farmers! That, and I think they liked scaring the Hell out of everybody! Many folks, when they saw them approaching their shores, just went down to meet them and asked what they would settle for, in exchange for leaving them alone. What they asked for, they received. Well let’s see for ourselves, what we have here!
Grasses are growing on the roof tops. There are 15 buildings in the settlement and several have the sod roofs. The main purpose of the sod is to hold the strips of birch bark that keeps “the under roof “in place. The sod insulates the roof, keeping the warmth in the building in the winter and cool in the summer. The vegetation also acts as a barrier to absorb noise from the outside world. Yeah, all those loud Vikings and drunk fishermen!
The garden path…………there are many ups and down…….it is not level here!
Underneath that spit of dry grass, there is marble rock……….
The grasses grow……..
Wildflowers grow………
and some kind of purpley flower……….Nature does her thing……..
So, what have we learned here? We could be living in a place that gives us natural plants all around…….not to worry what the nurseries are offering……not to worry what beautiful plant is in our neighbor’s yard. Not to worry, if I have the right soil, enough fertilizer, or space for this or that. Just take a gander outside and admire the beauty of it all! Nature at her finest!
Stay tuned, there is much to learn about the Trading Post at Kjerringøy! A woman ran the place!
Well, that is all for this week! Have a great week in your garden!
The instructions for SOS are easy. The photos can be flowers, vegetables, a garden design, whatever, as long as it’s garden related and posted on Saturday! So, its six photos. Of Gardens. On Saturday. Easy Peasy. To see all the SOS’s look at SIX ON SATURDAY, hosted by the Propagator, to check out all of them each Saturday! See you next week in another spot!
ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes 
I love those skies and those wildflowers.
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Love these photos especially since I’ve never been to Norway. The grass on the rooftops intrigues me — does it ever get too heavy and damage the roof? But it’s like a little hideout the way it is.
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I don’t know……I think the wind and salt spray would effect it too!
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A beautiful place, although I’m sure it can be bleak in winter, and I love the hairy roofs. Reminds me of the sod houses built on the plains by many settlers.
janet
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Yes, it is a lot like our sod houses……and yes I can not not imagine winter here, either. Although it does not get so much snow as other parts of Norway. But, let me tell you even today this is really, really really in the boonies. There is nothing around this village, of 450 people, but I must ask, “what do they DO here?” There is one road in and it is small and narrow and there is nothing but scenery! Hearty folks is all I can say! Even to get back to Bodø, the main city, and it is small too, it is a hike and a ferry ride to get there! If it were not for the ferry (which I bet does not run all year) it would take forever to reach by road!
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I’ve been through places in the States where I’ve said the same thing: What do they do? Also, where to they shop? 🙂
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Norway is sooooooo beautuiful! It is the color and the light and the fresh air. It would be beautiful all year round, I think!
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Wild tansy (the yellow wildflowers) and what resembles penstemon in Norway! I’m somewhat familiar with sod roof tops, having seen photos of these houses in travel magazines, but I never knew the reason for them. Your explanation makes sense.
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Jo where have you been? I keep looking at your website to see what you are up to! Thanks for sharing about these wildflowers!
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I love the idea of having a ‘living roof’. Presumably worry free and certainly ecologically sound as well as being far nicer to look at than corrugated iron which is what many houses have here.
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I like the corrugated roofs though also!
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A lovely tour of a wild area with flowers and grasses intermingling harmoniously. It was interesting to read about the Vikings and to see that the local put sods on top of their roofs. It is lovely and green there.
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Norway is possibly one of the most beautiful countries we have ever visited! I’m also glad we were able to visit these remote areas and not just the big cities!
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Oh, those Vikings were something and they didn’t wear those horn helmets either, it’s a myth, but they’re sold there in all the souvenir shops! We have lectures on the ship by professional academics and one was lecturing on Russia while we were in the Baltics and there was a wonderful woman professor from California, who taught all the classes about the Vikings! You can attend the lecture or it is recorded and then you can watch it in your stateroom at any time on the ship! We love it!
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Beautiful, the quality of the light makes for such sharp images. Is that yellow flower wild tansy?
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Yes, some folks have said that plant is tansy. We take all our photos on our IPhones now, because we got too old to carry all the camera equipment! Ha Ha! We haven’t been disappointed either!
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An interesting place and native flowers are very interesting.
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We loved the wilds of Norway! It is amazing how clean and fresh everything is there! And REMOTE!
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Yes, I’d imagine it would appeal to me also.
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Them Vikings arrived as far as Waterford 50km from here) a couple of years ago. Our way of placating them was to offer a lady to marry the chief. They ransacked many places but traded peacefully with us locally. Waterford to this day has a strong Viking heritage. And the moral of the story is…
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Yes, they carried off a lot of woman!
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Pádraig, yes, that was mentioned in the lectures! I learned a lot!
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How wonderful! I’ve never been to Scandinavia and I doubt at this point that I ever will but to see pics like these is an absolute blessing. I love the remoteness, the proximity of the sea, the vicious, wild coastlines. I mean seriously – we have to give those Vikings credit for living on the edge in so many ways, don’t we?
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Prue, Norway is truly one of the most beautiful, remote and prosperous countries!
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