Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

Perennial Favorites in the Alpine Habitat

Look for these blooms from around the world in the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens.

By Sarah Chase Shaw Photography by Courtesy Betty Ford Alpine Gardens June 24, 2021 Published in the Summer/Fall 2021 issue of Vail-Beaver Creek Magazine

Jones' columbine

Jones’ columbine (Aquilegia Jonesii) and Utah columbine (Aquilegia scopulorum) are by far the smallest columbines that grow in the garden. Compact and cushion-forming, these plants can be found in the Rocky Mountain Ecosystems garden as well as in the troughs near the Education Center.

Parachute penstemon

Look for the Parachute penstemon (Penstemon debilis), one of the rarest plants in North America, growing in troughs near the Education Center.

Edelweiss

Edelweiss (Leontopodium nivale) and many species of gentian, a trumpet-like flower with brilliant blue blooms accentuated by the ultraviolet light found at high altitude, grow in the Alpine Plants of the World garden.

Coral lily

The coral lily (Lilian pumilum), native to the mountains of China and Siberia, is just one of the many varieties of exotic lilies found in the Alpine Plants of the World collection of the Silk Road garden.

Photography by Courtesy Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

Foxtail lily

Also look for the tall and brilliant yellow spikes of foxtail lily (Eremurus stenophyllus) towering high above its neighbors in the Silk Road garden.

Evening primrose

As its name suggests, the best time to view evening primrose (Oenothera cespitosa) is late in the day when the flower blooms in cool mountain air; look for it in the Rocky Mountain ecosystem collection.

Explore one of the world's great alpine botanic resources near the heart of Vail Village.

betty ford alpine gardens