Lake Maggiore-Giardino Botanico Alpini

[David Nicholson]

The garden is at just over 800m high on the flank of Monte Mottarone and overlooks the southern part of Lake Maggiore. It is best approached by cable car from a station between Stresa and Baveno. The stop for the Alpine Garden is just over half way to the top of the mountain where we ventured later in the day. Some trepidation was expressed by a certain member of the group for whom cable cars are not an enjoyable experience but she coped very well!

First a couple of views from the garden out over the Lake. The first overlooking Pallenza and Verbania with the Lake curving round on it's way to the Swiss border and Locarno. The Islands in the Lake are; Isola Superiore to the left; Isola Bella to the right and at the top of the triangle Isola Madre. The second shows the cable car appearing over the trees.

[David Nicholson]

I had gone prepared to be disappointed in the garden expecting it to be more of a touristy opportunity than a serious alpine garden but I was entirely wrong. It is well laid out and plants are well labelled (I will leave it to others with far more experience than I in respect of the accuracy of the labels) and it is in an absolutely beautiful position. I would have liked to have seen it a few weeks earlier in the year and equally would like to see it a few weeks later in the year too but there was still much to see and quite a few notes were made by my intrepid Secretary.

Four general views of the garden:-

[Martinr]

Great stuff David but you missed out the most important bit of information. Has it got a good coffee shop?

[David Nicholson]

Just a few of the plants seen:-

Anemone canadensis
Minuartia caricifolia
Genista tinctoria
Scutellaria alpina

[David Nicholson]

Great stuff David but you missed out the most important bit of information. Has it got a good coffee shop?

Thank you Martin. No coffee shop in the garden but one very near to the cable car station which was a bit on the "agricultural" side. Some members of the party expressed the view that the guy serving the coffee hadn't washed his hands from his previous task of spray painting touristy tat! Still, it was the cheapest coffee we bought and, had we been hungry we could have had an equally cheap lasagne.

[David Nicholson]

More plants:-

Campanula saxifraga just beginning to flower
Campanula rhomboidalis
Orchis maculata ssp fuchsii
Penstemon digitalis (mistyca?)

[David Nicholson]

Some more:-

Lilium martagon
Lilium bulbiferum ssp croceum
Gentiana lutea

[David Nicholson]

and to finish:-

Rhododendron keiskeyi 'Yaku Fairy'  not in flower but, as far as I know, this has a Devon connection in that it was originally bred by Barry Starling.
Rhododendron viscosum  (already posted on the Rhododendron thread where John Weigle thought it was perhaps a hybrid)

[krisderaeymaeker]

Nice  to see your pictures of this beautiful region David !

[David Nicholson]

Thank you Kris.

[johnw]

and to finish:-

Rhododendron keiskei 'Yaku Fairy'  not in flower but, as far as I know, this has a Devon connection in that it was originally bred by Barry Starling.

Indeed it does David.  Barry grew seed collected wild by K. Wada and selected this extremely fine form which received the Award of Merit in 1970.

As you might guess Lesley as a very choice extra dwarf form!

re: your viscosum  To my eyes it looks like a hybrid but the RHS website shows a viscosum close to yours, however it seems awfully far removed from what we think of viscosum over here.

[Lvandelft]

Nice pics of the Italian area of Lago Maggiore, David! I never heard before of this Botanic Alpine Garden, but for sure interesting enough to make a visit if in this area, which brings me lots of good memories. The island beds look interesting, but Anemone canadensis should be avoided in such beds, because I never get rid of it since many years, whenever always very nice when in flower.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Looks like a superb little alpine garden David !  I'd never heard of it either.
Thanks for showing us around, but I'd love to see more !!

[ChrisB]

Lovely pics David, we're going to have to get back there one day.....

[shelagh]

Brings back lovely memories David.  Thanks.