Seaside Norfolk Pines

Norfolk Pines or Araucaria_heterophylla come from Norfolk Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Australia and New Zealand, and we often see them planted along coastlines here in New Zealand. In writing this, I was astounded to see that they are cultivated as houseplants overseas. I am not a huge fan of Norfolk pines as a seaside tree – they don’t provide enough shade for my liking, and they don’t have lush palm-like leaves.

But Oriental Parade, the home of the main beach in our city, is lined with them, so I feel I have to accept them! I will admit they look lovely and sculptural against the sky, and those in Oriental Bay are decorated with lights (which always make me think someone put them up for Christmas and New Year then forgot to take them down!) at night-time, which is always a pretty sight.

On our recent trip to the Wairarapa coast we saw them along the beach there too. Here are a few I’ve seen recently:

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  At the beach

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  A Norfolk Pine in Oriental Bay

Another in the Thursday Tree Love series – find all the other bloggers doing it here.