Natural "rock gardens" in the Italian Maritime Alps

[Maggi Young]

Thomas  Huber  (Hubi) and  his  son  Chris are  travelling  in Italy-   Hubi has  kindly  allowed  me  to  post  these  photos  from the  Maritime  Alps.

I'll try  to start  with the  lower  elevations ....


Orchids 1400m


Campanula  1600m


Lavendula with a  wonderful scent all over the  misty  path  1600m


Flower lawn 1700 m


Saxifraga 1600 m

[Maggi Young]

Meadow  full of Rhinanthus ?  "yellow rattle"


Nigritella rubra  1700 m


Wonderful Lillium pomponium 1700 m


Aster  alpinus 1900m

[Maggi Young]

natural rock garden 1    2000m


natural rock garden 2    2000m


Dianthis alpinus ?     2000m

[Maggi Young]

Flower  meadow 2  2100m



flower  meadow   2100 m


Rockgarden  with globularia  2100m


natural  crevice  garden 2100m

[Maggi Young]

View from Col d'Esischie to the Po-Plain, 2200m - with Polygonum  ? bistorta


Gentiana  @  2300m

[ashley]

Stunning    
Thanks Maggi & Thomas.

[Lesley Cox]

What a wonderful collection of photos and we are privileged to see them "remotely" by way of you Maggi. Warm thanks to "Hubi" and Chris as well. Such huge and widespread displays of single genera are always spectacular and unforgettable.

I am no expert of dianthus (or anything else) but I wonder if the Dianthus alpinus may in fact be D. callizonus. It's just the bluish centre that encourages me to suggest it. If not please say.

[Tristan_He]

Beautiful photos, and making me pine for the mountains! Nice to see some Globularias in the wild.

I am pretty sure that the pink is D. pavonius. D. callizonus tends to have a much more marked central ring. The hay rattle I think is one of the larger European species, something like R. alectorolophus, but there are several and they are not easy to ID. I tried unsucessfully to establish some in the meadow last year....

There really is nothing like seeing alpines in the wild finding their own way through the rocks. Love the Lilium pomponium!

[ruweiss]

Simply wonderful... Thanks to Thomas, Chris and Maggi.

[Gabriela]

Nothing more beautiful than the mountains with their plants! Thanks Maggi and Thomas!

I'm no expert in Dianthus, but it cannot be C. callizonus just because this is an endemic species in the Romanian Carpathians.

[Lesley Cox]

Oh, well that settles that then. Thank you Gabriela.