Wildflower Wednesday: Alpengarten

The Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau from Murren

A little while ago I wrote about garden visits which suit both NAH and me. Little did I know within a few days of that post I'd find a whole holiday. Don't get me wrong, all our holidays are enjoyable, but Switzerland was exceptional. NAH could happily play on the mountain railways and cable cars all day, whilst I could take in everything nature wanted to show me.

A view down to the Lauterbrunnen valley on the way up to Wengen

One day on a train journey up the mountain back to Wengen I caught NAH watching me with a smile on his face. 'What's up?', I asked him. 'I'm watching you taking it all in', he said. Little did he know that not only was I drinking in the gorgeous mountain views, I also had a running commentary playing in my head along the lines of:

"That view is fabulous; that's a wild flower I have in my garden... there's another, it's clover; and that's a Campanula; and there's a scabious like the one I have in my pots; here's a smaller version of the ox-eye daisy in my lawn; is that green roof man-made or blown in by the wind?; I didn't know Astrantia major could grow up here; I LOVE that waterfall... and there's another... and another; ooh squash growing in a compost heap, nice; what a tiny fern; those are fantastic Pulsatilla seedheads; how can that plant squeeze into that crevice?; hmmm, rosebay willowherb, now there's a surprise; that stream must be glacier melt seeing the water looks grey; will that incy wincy tiny conifer grow any taller seeing we're at the tree line?; ooh I didn't know there was a yellow monkshood; I have NO idea what that umbellifer is..."

View near the Mannlichen cable car station

It was a constant stream of delightful views, thoughts and questions. I loved the high mountain meadows, full of jewel-like wild flowers grazed by the cows with their tinkling bells. These contrasted with the lush lower ones where hay making was in full flow, full of quite different flowers. When we reached the high rocky slopes and mountain tops, I was amazed how even the most craggy of landscapes had something there tough enough to put down roots and grow.

Some of the crevice hugger flowers I found by the Rothorn Kulm station on the Brienz Rothorn railway at over 7,000 feet above sea level

There were so many familiar flowers too, how could that be? Perhaps Mr Thomas Cook and his pioneering tours to the Swiss Alps in the 1860s had a part to play? I can imagine how the plant obsessed Victorians would want to collect everything laid out before them and bring it home. I learned later the canny Swiss positively encouraged them to come over for the healthful mountain air and to pick the flowers for their pressed flower albums. That's why the iconic edelweiss is now a rarity in the wild, but can be seen everywhere grown in pots or in a host of decorative forms.

I was quite happy to keep going with my thoughts and not take them any further as it was so relaxing. Then one day I found there was a game changer in our itinerary. Our planned trip on the historic Schynige Platte railway held a surprise for me at the top in the shape of the Botanical Alpine Garden aka Alpengarten. Here around 700 alpine plant species would be laid out for me to study and at last identify exactly what I'd seen.

I got very excited.

Except nature had slightly different plans for the day...

A rainy day at the Alpengarten, Schynige Platte

Our only rainy day (and our last full day) of the holiday was a trip on the Schynige Platte railway. The Alpengarten is indeed marvellous, but I had to take my photos at a gallop and my camera seized up half way round.

Some of the Alpengarten's scenes and flowers

Everything I saw was a delight though and I can't wait to go back. However, the day's weather means I've yet to fully identify a lot of the plants I've grown to love and then match them to the many different habitats available to them.

But that doesn't matter as I know I'll have even more to wonder at when we go back.

Things to investigate later - though buying seeds to bring home raises the ugly head of biosecurity issues

In the meantime I have the Alpengarten's helpful leaflet to go through. From this I see the famous Alpenrose which graces the name of many hotels isn't a rose, nor a rock rose (which had been my guess), but Rhododendron ferrugineum. Who knew? I've also found a great website to help me narrow down my plant IDs; a couple of conservation organisations to investigate for those tricky climate change, farming and tourism issues that gently reared their heads occasionally; and a field guidebook on order to pop in my rucksack for next time.

It's going to be fun.

Wildflower Wednesday is brought to you by my wonderful pal Gail at Clay and Limestone on each fourth Wednesday of the month.

Comments

  1. Down-to-Earth28 August 2019 at 13:28

    Interesting to see it all without snow! Those slopes look even more daunting than in winter. Sounds like you had a fabulous trip and so much safer than on skis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP29 August 2019 at 12:40

      It was my first time in the alps in summer and I wasn't sure how I'd cope without seeing snow. Thank goodness for the higher mountains - I don't think I could have coped with seeing just green and rock, it wouldn't have seemed normal. It was interesting talking to one of the locals who told us that climate change is affecting the amount of snow they get in winter. It's increased noticeably.

      Delete
  2. Gail28 August 2019 at 15:05

    What a wonderful holiday. Happy WW to you.xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP29 August 2019 at 12:41

      Thanks Gail, so happy to have a contribution suitable for WW :)

      Delete
  3. Shirley28 August 2019 at 23:40

    So beautiful and you found the Edelweiss in bloom. Many of those flowers do look familiar from here as well. That's always the best when you find a place you can't wait to return to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP29 August 2019 at 12:42

      Welcome Shirley - I suspect quite a few of the familiar flowers may be a different species; one suited to mountain climes, but who knows until I can get a full ID!

      Delete
  4. Sue B29 August 2019 at 07:24

    You're such a good writer and I've loved reading these accounts of Switzerland. Now I want to go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP29 August 2019 at 12:43

      How lovely of you to say Sue :) One travel tip for when you go... buy a Swiss travel pass, it's much cheaper than paying for individual trips out there.

      Delete
  5. Lea30 August 2019 at 15:09

    Beautiful flowers! And what a view of the mountains! I would be afraid if I bent over to look at a wildflower, I might tumble down the side!
    Have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP8 September 2019 at 10:58

      There's was plenty of opportunity to view the flowers in safe conditions, Lea :)

      Delete
  6. Diana Studer30 August 2019 at 22:34

    Did you see yellow violets - were they blooming?

    One of our wildflowers, a succulent Aizoon sarmentosum reminds me so much of Edelweiss, both the shape and the slightly woolly petals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP8 September 2019 at 10:59

      No, I didn't Diana. I see they should have been in flower at the time I was there, so I probably missed those that were :(

      Delete
  7. Karin / Southern Meadows31 August 2019 at 00:35

    Switzerland is amazing! I am surprised you found so many wildflowers growing in the alpine area that you grow in your own garden. What a delightful surprise!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP8 September 2019 at 11:00

      It was a delightful surprise, Karin but in other ways not so, bearing in mind the British probably have the largest collections of blooms in their gardens which originate from elsewhere

      Delete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

Comments aiming to link back and give credence to commercial websites will be composted!

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it ...
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl...
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape...
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing ...
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the...
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee...
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi...
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso...
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter, ...
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener...
Read more