Cook's Gondwana Pine

Far more garden-worthy than the Norfolk Island Pine, which is best suited to coastal caravan parks. Diggers has chosen the Cook Island Pine for its bushier growth habit and narrow diameter; standing like a vertical sentinel, it takes up just 3 metres of horizontal space. Its dense foliage, conical shape and distinctive flaky bark set it apart from other forms of pines. Heronswood has a gigantic 120-year-old specimen that has a northern lean. For years we thought this was due to the slope of the site, but recent research has determined that all Cook's Pines lean to the equator, and the further away from it, the greater the lean, so beware Tasmanian gardeners.