IN THE GARDEN
A benefit of these plants is you can squeeze many of them into a small space The sandstone rock garden in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has a wide path meandering through large boulders, with alpines from six mountainous regions of the world, while Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s rock garden has around 5,000 alpine species in the naturally undulating landscape. More recently, RHS Garden Harlow Carr installed a limestone rock garden adjacent to its alpine house. Each garden has water features, which add to the charm, but more importantly all have effective drainage and an open position necessary for alpine plants to flourish. While the heyday of rock garden construction may be a thing of the past due to financial and environmental concerns, there is plenty of scope to include alpines in your own garden. What are true alpine plants? True alpine plants grow above the tree line in inhospitable mountainous regions at altitudes up to 4,000m above sea level. Here, they are covered by an insulating layer of snow in winter, but they also endure low temperatures, limited water, strong winds, intense light, low nutrient levels and poor, rocky soils.
SUBLIME ALPINES You can find both Pulsatilla rubra (red pasque flower, pictured above) and Aethionema grandiflora (Persian stonecress, pictured below) at the Botanic Garden
cultivation in our climate, whether it be individually in pots or a medley of plants in a window box, trough, raised bed or rock garden. And, of course, one of the great benefits of these charming plants is that you can squeeze many into a small space, making them ideal for even the most compact garden. There are a few guiding principles you should follow if you’re venturing into alpine cultivation. If you’re using a container for growing alpines, position it in an open site to encourage air flow, put a layer of crocks (broken pots) or grit in the bottom of your container, add plenty of grit to your compost to aid drainage, and apply a top dressing of grit on the surface of
In response to these conditions, they have compact habits, small leaves, extensive root systems and a short growing season in which to produce flower and seed. Today, many of these ‘high alpines’ are under threat from climate change, which is affecting snowfall and the timing of snow melt, and consequently the fragile ecosystems in which they grow. In gardening terms, the word ‘alpine’ extends to small plants from other habitats that enjoy the same growing conditions of good drainage and ventilation. Alpines for every garden Whether a high alpine or a small plant from a lower altitude, all are suitable for
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