Treasure island: A gentle climate and generous gardening culture marks Norfolk Island and its landscape as something specia

摘要

Nothing can really prepare you for the sight of a mass planting of Norfolk Island pines. Having always seen them queuing in orderly lines along the foreshore, or as a lonely testament to the folly of planting too large a specimen on a suburban section, the experience of walking through a grove of pines highlights their distinctive beauty. Let's face it, a Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) is the natural candidate for the role of principal if trees ever decide to start up a school of deportment. They ignore the fact that their isolated island home is buffeted by every wind that romps across the Pacific Ocean. No slouching, slumping, drooping or leaning at unsightly angles for this group of giants which deny the forces of nature to stand upright in symmetrical splendour.