“Exceptions are always there, and it is these that are interesting.”
— Gunnar James Hiorth
All the trees in the world in Norwegian soil
"All Verdens Trær i Norsk Jord" is a book Gunnar Hiorth published 2 years before he passed away. The book is about his knowledge and wisdom about trees and takes us on a green journey through 500 different conifers and 1500 species of deciduous trees and bushes - more than 2000 types of plants that Gunnar Hiorth himself tried out in Håskog planteskole.
“A tour in Hiorth¨s jungle”
When I turn the pages in the book, the feeling of weird shaped leaves and colorful fruits flows out of the covers of the book. Hiorth himself points out that the book is based on a 36 years old hobby and passion for trees and that he gladly emphasizes his favorites. Berberis and Ilex seem to fall into this category - he tried 53 types of Berberis and 35 types of Ilex and he is not gracious in his criticism of the less hardy types “Ilex glabra. Berberis nervosa is described as “too needy and fragile”.Hiorth is also showing interest for a “type of tree that the monkeys can not climb in”. If you want to succeed with seeds from Monkey tree (Araucaria araucana), you should read his laborious approach and good advice!
Hiorth has a liberating and sometimes humorous writing style that makes the factual and telegram-styled book reader friendly, but it would help if the reader is a plant enthusiast. The book is giving good plant experiences, but the most important is the impressive scientific work Hiorth has documented through a life as a plant nursery man.
— Park og Anlegg, En tur i Hiorts jungel, Ole Billing Hansen 2006