Laugardalur In Full Bloom

We went on the Reykjavík Botanical Garden’s free tour!

On a sunny Friday, I take a quick bus to Laugardalur from Grapevine HQ. I arrive at the gates to the Reykjavík Botanical Garden (Grasagarðurinn) with five minutes to spare before the free Friday tour I’m joining at 12:40 sharp. This summer, every Friday, the Botanical Garden offers a free tour in Icelandic at noon, followed by a tour in English at 12:40.

My tour group consists of an Icelandic-Brazilian couple and six American tourists. We meet horticulturist Svavar Skúli Jónsson, who offers that he can curate our tour if there are any particular interests in the group. “If you have a special interest in meconopses, we can see all the meconopses!” he exclaims.

The Reykjavík Botanical Garden opened in 1961, founded with a collection of 200 Icelandic plants. Now, there’s a nursery, an arboretum, and over 3,000 different species of plants. They participate in a global exchange network, which explains how they got the South American plants that Svavar points out to us. The Reykjavík Botanical Garden also contributes to the NordGen Seed Vault, a protected collection of Nordic seeds in Svalbard that their website explains is “the largest backup facility for the world’s crop diversity.”

Let it grow

Though I have never tried to grow anything on this windy, rocky island, it was fascinating to hear from an expert on it. As we travel through their vegetable garden, we see huge leaves from rhubarb plants, varied root vegetables, and lots of herbs. A tourist asks what is difficult to grow in Iceland, and Svavar responds simply, stating, “I don’t know anyone who has successfully grown a pumpkin.” However, we learn that a famously reliable crop in Iceland, the potato, has its own day celebrated yearly at the Botanical Garden (which I have to make sure I catch this year).
“Lupine fills the wounds that we made.”

Icelanders are known for their tenacity in the face of a harsh climate, and we learn this trait is shared by some of Iceland’s vegetation. “When another country’s forestry service comes to Iceland, they are amazed how we don’t have as much windfall,” explains Svavar. “We think it’s something to do with the freezing of the ground.”

Further, we talk about Iceland’s barrenness. I remember a friend of mine once asking me if there were “really no trees in Iceland?” Although that is not true, there are significantly fewer trees on this island than in many other nations. Of course, a fair amount of that can be attributed to the dynamic, volcanic landscape of the country. But some of it is due to intentional deforestation, exacerbated by the spread of industrialisation through the country.

Case in point, one tourist points out the lupine that covers the landscape at the moment, and Svavar replies, “Lupine fills the wounds that we made.”

The tour ends at the Icelandic collection, a rocky patch with a small geothermal area within it (just like home!). We explore, thank Svavar, and all scatter to continue with our day.

Laundry list

Taking a 30-minute walk in the middle of the work day was quite refreshing, but we understand that this time of day isn’t feasible for many. But the Botanical Garden, in general, has an In This Economy?! stamp of approval. The garden itself is free, and they host many more events beyond these tours. This spring, they hosted storytime for children in Spanish, Arabic, and Ukrainian, and an outdoor art exhibition by students from the Iceland University of the Arts (curated by University of Iceland students).

There’s more to explore in this area that’s also wallet-friendly. It’s worth learning about the namesake of Laugardalur, the þvottalaugar or “laundry pools.” This area used to be where laundry was done, due to the large, hot pools of water. If you explore just a bit further on from the Botanical Garden, you can see where they used to be. To complete the tableau, you can also find Ásmundur Sveinsson’s Þvottakona, a sculpture of a woman doing her washing.

Whether you can sneak out of work at noon on a Friday or not, there’s much to do in Laugardalur (even in this economy).

Times are tough and money is tight. In This Economy?! spotlights things to do that don’t cost a single krónur. Got a free event you want more people to know about? Let us know at grapevine@grapevine.is