Café Hvönn at the Nordic house

The Greenhousecafe Café Hvönn is situated outside the Nordic House. There  you can sit down, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the spectacular view over the pond wher a lively birdlife exists. Around the Greenhouse is a small vegetable garden with a slection af Nordic herbs and vegetables, grown since the early days of Iceland.

The following text is written on a sign in the garden:

Edible garden Nordic house

In the garden you can see a number of cultivated plants which have been used in Iceland through the years. The history of oour cultivated plants, and their meaning for our livelihood and culture in the Nordic countries, has in recent years become a topic of enormous interest both to scholars and scientists and to the general public. Traditions of farming, gardening, cooking and sharing food in local communities, have become important elements of our identity.

The increasing focus on New Nordic Food, the origin and history of our plants play a vital role in defining the essence of our region, and the plants contribute a key element of authenticity to our food. The garden gives us a beautiful living example of our cultural heritage in edible garden. Dill Restaurant uses the harvest from the garden in their kitchen.

The garden is in cooperation with the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, the Icelandi Genetic Resource Center an Reykjavík's botanical garden.
Advisor: Ingólfur Guðnason.
Dagnþ Bjarnadóttir landscape architect drew the garden and it was made ba Garðvélar.

Myndin er tekin úr eldhúsgarðinum, séð til gríðurhúss Kaffi Hvannar. Ljósmynd: Guðrún Tryggvadóttir.