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. is ...

, 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 taxon, taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial g ...

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 ...

. Although it is often associated with rocks, an alpine garden does not require rocks to thrive. It is the alpine plants that is the focus, not the rocks. Scientifically, alpine plants are characterized as plants that grow above the tree line in mountainous regions, where the environment makes it hard for plants to produce woody tissues. From the horticulture perspective, any plants with a suitable size and is able to withstand harsh conditions such as a rock garden, trough, or raised beds could be considered as alpine. They are often smaller in statue and more hardy. 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) and 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 is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

(essentially an unheated

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

), 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 (biology), family Primulaceae, second only to ''Primula'' in the number of species. It is predominantly Arctic–alpine, with many species in the Himalay ...

'' * '' Arabis alpina'' (rock cress) * ''

Campanula ''Campanula'' () is the type genus of the Campanulaceae family (biology), family of flowering plants. ''Campanula'' are commonly known as bellflowers and take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers—''campanula'' i ...

'' - alpine species * ''

Dianthus ''Dianthus'' ( ) is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Am ...

'' - alpine species * '' Gentiana'' * '' Geranium dalmaticum'' (cranesbill) * '' Globularia'' * '' Iberis sempervirens'' (candytuft) * '' Leontopodium'' * '' Phlox subulata'' * '' Pulsatilla vulgaris'' (pasque flower) * ''

Primula ''Primula'' () is a genus of herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants in the family (biology), family Primulaceae. They include the primrose (''Primula vulgaris, P. vulgaris''), a familiar wildflower of banks and verges. Other common specie ...

'' - alpine species * ''

Ranunculus ''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about 1750 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The genus is distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate an ...

'' (buttercup) * '' Rhodanthemum hosmariense'' * ''

Saxifraga ''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 473 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

'' - alpine species * '' Scutellaria orientalis'' (helmet flower) * '' Sedum spathulifolium'' (stonecrop) * '' Sisyrinchium'' * ''

Thymus The thymus (: thymuses or thymi) is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, T cells mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. The thymus ...

'' (thyme)

Botanical gardens with an alpine house or garden

;Austria * Botanical Garden of the University of Innsbruck ; ;Belgium * Plantentuin Universiteit Gent ; ;Canada ;
Jardin botanique de Montréal
;

;* ttps://botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/visit/garden-highlights/e-h-lohbrunner-alpine-garden/ University of British Columbia: E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden;
Alpinegium
;China * Lijiang Alpine Botanic Garden ;France *

Jardin des Plantes The Jardin des Plantes (, ), also known as the Jardin des Plantes de Paris () when distinguished from other ''jardins des plantes'' in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. Jardin des Plantes is the official name in the present da ...

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 () is a botanical garden in the locality of the borough of , Berlin, Germany. Constructed between 1897 and 1910 under the guidance of architect Adolf Engler, it has an area of and over 20,000 di ...

* Botanischer Garten Bielefeld * Botanischer Garten Düsseldorf * Botanischer Garten Gießen * Botanischer Garten der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität 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. An adm ...

* Botanischer Garten Potsdam * 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 June 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 ;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 1,10 ...

* RHS Wisley *

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

;United States * Betty Ford Alpine Gardens *

Denver Botanic Gardens The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in the Cheesman Park neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. The park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the ...

Vegetation

Botanical gardens with an alpine house or garden

See also

References

External links