We were lucky enough to visit Iceland this summer and were surprised to find some flourishing Blue Spruce! With much of Iceland covered in moss-covered lava flows or frozen glaciers and with plenty of geothermal activity beneath the soil, it is not a place where trees can easily thrive.
Birch, willow and rowan are native to the island but they often grow no higher than human height! But growing in the hills above the fjords in eastern Iceland, these Blue Spruce were loving the sub-arctic cool air. They had grown to quite a towering height.
History relates that the Viking invaders cut down much of the wood that they found when they settled in Iceland. In the 1900s, reforestation projects became popular – spruce and birch were planted in small plantations.
Blue Spruce are native to the Rocky Mountains of North America and are also known as the Colorado Spruce. We have been growing Blue Spruce on our fields for over 12 years now. Their prickly needles and bluey hue makes them an unusual and striking choice for a Christmas Tree, and we have quite a few customers coming back for one year after year.
Come and have a look for yourselves when we open our fields again this Christmas!
