An alpine garden (or alpinarium, alpinum) is a domestic or

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of

alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grass ...

s growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in the Caucasus, Pyrenees, Rocky Mountains, Alps, Himalayas and Andes. It is one of the most common types of

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...

. An alpine garden tries to imitate the conditions of the plants' place of origin. One example of this is using large stones and gravel beds, rather than the soil that naturally grows there. Though the plants can cope with low temperatures, they dislike standing in damp soil during the winter months. The soil used is typically poor (sandy) but extremely well-drained. One of the main obstacles in developing an alpine garden is the unsuitable conditions which exist in some areas, particularly mild or severe winters and heavy rainfall, such as those present in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This can be avoided by growing the plants in an

alpine house A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

(essentially an unheated

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

), which tries to reproduce the ideal conditions, or just covering them with a raised sheet of glass in winter. According to some Austrian sources, the first true alpine garden was created by Anton Kerner von Marilaun in 1875 on the Blaser Mountain, in Tyrol, Austria, at an altitude of .

Vegetation

Typical plants found in an alpine garden include: * ''

Androsace ''Androsace'', commonly known as rock jasmine, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae, second only to '' Primula'' in the number of species. It is predominantly Arctic–alpine, with many species in the Himalayas (where the gen ...

'' * ''

Arabis alpina ''Arabis alpina'', the Alpine rock-cress, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to mountainous areas of Europe, North and East Africa, Central and Eastern Asia and parts of North America. In the British Isles, it is only known ...

'' (rock cress) * ''

Campanula ''Campanula'' () is one of several genera of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae commonly known as bellflowers. They take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers — ''campanula'' is Latin for "little bell" ...

'' - alpine species * '' Dianthus'' - alpine species * ''

Gentiana ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their m ...

'' * '' Geranium dalmaticum'' (cranesbill) * ''

Globularia ''Globularia'' is a genus of about 22 species of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, native to central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. They are dense low evergreen mat-forming perennials or ...

'' * ''

Iberis sempervirens ''Iberis sempervirens'', the evergreen candytuft or perennial candytuft, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to southern Europe. The species is often used as an ornamental garden shrub because of its decorative fl ...

'' (candytuft) * ''

Leontopodium ''Leontopodium'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus is native to Europe and Asia. The fuzzy and somewhat stocky "petals" (technically, bracts) could be thought of as somewhat resembling lions' paws—hence the genus n ...

'' * '' Phlox subulata'' * '' Pulsatilla vulgaris'' (pasque flower) * '' Primula'' - alpine species * ''

Ranunculus ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about almost 1700 to more than 1800 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed in Europe ...

'' (buttercup) * '' Rhodanthemum hosmariense'' * '' Saxifraga'' - alpine species * '' Scutellaria orientalis'' (helmet flower) * '' Sedum spathulifolium'' (stonecrop) * '' Sisyrinchium'' * ''

Thymus The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or '' T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders ...

'' (thyme)

Botanical gardens with an alpine house or garden

;Austria *

Botanical Garden of the University of Innsbruck The Botanical Garden of the University of Innsbruck (german: Botanischer Garten der Universität Innsbruck) is a 2-hectare botanical garden operated by the University of Innsbruck. It is located in Hötting at Sternwartestraße 15, Innsbruck, Aus ...

;Belgium * Plantentuin Universiteit Gent ;China * Lijiang Alpine Botanic Garden ;France * Jardin des Plantes *

Jardin botanique alpin du Lautaret The Lautaret Alpine Garden (Jardin botanique alpin du Lautaret) (2 hectares) is an alpine botanical garden located at 2100 metres altitude in the Col du Lautaret of the Dauphiné Alps, near Villar-d'Arêne, Hautes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Az ...

* Jardin botanique alpin La Jaÿsinia ;Germany * Botanischer Erlebnisgarten Altenburg *

Botanical Garden in Berlin The Berlin Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum (german: Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin) is a botanical garden in the locality of the borough of , Berlin, Germany. Constructed between 1897 and 1910 under the guidance of archi ...

Botanischer Garten Bielefeld The Botanischer Garten Bielefeld (4 hectares) is a municipal botanical garden located beside the southeast edge of the Teutoburger Wald at Am Kahlenberg 16, Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open daily without charge. The gar ...

* Botanischer Garten Düsseldorf * Botanischer Garten Gießen *

Botanischer Garten der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main The Botanischer Garten Frankfurt am Main (7 hectares) is a botanical garden and arboretum formerly maintained by the Goethe University and since 2012 administered by the City of Frankfurt. It is located at Siesmayerstraße 72, Frankfurt am Main, ...

* Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg * Botanischer Garten Münster *

Botanischer Garten Marburg The Botanischer Garten Marburg (20 hectares), also known as the Neuer Botanischer Garten Marburg, is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Marburg, located on Karl-von-Frisch-Straße, Marburg, Hesse, Germany, and open daily. A ...

Botanischer Garten Potsdam The Botanical Garden in Potsdam (german: Botanischer Garten Potsdam or ''Botanischer Garten der Universität Potsdam''), is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Potsdam. It has a total area of 8.5 hectares, of which 5 ...

* Botanischer Garten der Ruhr-Universität Bochum ;Italy *

Orto botanico di Padova The Orto Botanico di Padova is a botanical garden in Padua, in the northeastern part of Italy. Founded in 1545 by the Venetian Republic, it is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location. The garden – ...

; Slovenia * Alpine Botanical Garden Juliana ; The Netherlands * Botanische Tuin Fort Hoofddijk *

Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam Hortus Botanicus is a botanical garden in the Plantage district of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is one of the world's oldest botanical gardens. History The Amsterdam city council founded the ''Hortus Botanicus'' (initially named the ''H ...

;United Kingdom *

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

* RHS Wisley * Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh ;United States *

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens The Betty Ford Alpine Gardens are one of the world's highest botanical garden, located at 183 Gore Creek Drive, Vail, Colorado, United States, at an altitude in the Rocky Mountains. The Gardens are open to the public year-round. The Gardens ...

Vegetation

Botanical gardens with an alpine house or garden

See also

References

External links