thumb|An alpinum adjacent to the [[King's House on Schachen in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany]]

An alpine garden (or alpinarium, alpinum) is a domestic or botanical garden, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants 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.

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.

Vegetation

220px|thumbnail|right|[[Betty Ford Alpine Gardens]]

Typical plants found in an alpine garden include:

  • Androsace
  • Arabis alpina (rock cress)
  • Campanula - alpine species
  • Dianthus - alpine species
  • Gentiana
  • Geranium dalmaticum (cranesbill)
  • Globularia
  • Iberis sempervirens (candytuft)
  • Leontopodium
  • Phlox subulata
  • Pulsatilla vulgaris (pasque flower)
  • Primula - alpine species
  • Ranunculus (buttercup)
  • Rhodanthemum hosmariense
  • Saxifraga - alpine species
  • Scutellaria orientalis (helmet flower)
  • Sedum spathulifolium (stonecrop)
  • Sisyrinchium
  • Thymus (thyme)

Botanical gardens with an alpine house or garden

thumb|The alpinum in [[Botanischer Garten Bielefeld, Germany]]

thumb|Alpinum in [[Orto botanico di Padova, Italy]]

;Austria

  • Botanical Garden of the University of Innsbruck

;

;Belgium

  • Plantentuin Universiteit Gent

;

;Canada

;* Jardin botanique de Montréal

;* University of Alberta Botanic Garden: Patrick Seymour Alpine Garden

;* University of British Columbia: E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden

;* Alpinegium

;China

  • Lijiang Alpine Botanic Garden

;France

  • Jardin des Plantes
  • Jardin botanique alpin du Lautaret
  • Jardin botanique alpin La Jaÿsinia

;Germany

  • Botanischer Erlebnisgarten Altenburg
  • Botanical Garden in Berlin
  • 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
  • Botanischer Garten Potsdam
  • Botanischer Garten der Ruhr-Universität Bochum

;Italy

  • Orto botanico di Padova

; Slovenia

  • Alpine Botanical Garden Juliana

; The Netherlands

  • Botanische Tuin Fort Hoofddijk
  • Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam

;United Kingdom

  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  • RHS Wisley
  • Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

;United States

  • Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
  • Denver Botanic Gardens

See also

  • List of garden types

References

  • Alpine Garden Society
  • North American Rock Garden Society
  • Scottish Rock Garden Club
  • New Zealand Alpine Garden Society
  • (English) Alpine Garden Society - Dublin Group - Home Page
  • Nederlandse Rotsplanten Vereniging
  • Vlaamse Rotsplanten Vereniging
  • Making a Rock Garden by Henry Sherman Adams, 1912