The world's best rock gardens...

I'm often asked which are the world's finest rock gardens. It's a difficult question to answer. I've seen Kew, Wisley and Edinburgh--the crown jewels of the UK. I've visited Denver and its Mt. Goliath outpost...and, of course, I was the curator at The New York Botanical Garden and have a passing familiarity with its charms.

Choosing the "best" rock gardens of the world is no easy task, and is fraught with peril because someone's favorite will inevitably be left off the list (feel free to let me know...and I promise to keep the list growing...). In addition, I don't have lots of information on some of them--but their reputations alone are enough to get them on the list.

The world's best rock gardens make the list for a variety of reasons. Size is not a major factor; the number of taxa present, on the other hand is important to me. Some of the gardens are relatively old, others new. They are very different, and each of them unique, in appearance and construction. For rock or alpine gardeners, however, they are all worthy.

I'd like to visit them all some day--and would love to learn about others.

Here, in no particular order, are my picks as of May 2007:

Le Jardin Botanique Alpin du Lautaret (France)

Lautaret is one of the larger gardens on the list at roughly 6 acres. It is located at the confluence of the northern and southern, and inner and outer Alps (whew!), and counts over 2300 taxa in its inventories. It was established in 1899 and moved to its current location in 1919. It has an astounding 48 distinct geographic and habitat gardens, but surprisingly receives only about 25,000 visitors a year.

Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh (Scotland)

Of all the gardens I've seen personally, Edinburgh is far and away my favorite. Maybe this is because its location makes it the perfect spot for the successful cultivation of so many of the "holy grail" plants of the rock garden world. My time there was marred by a soft rain, but it hardly mattered. I just wish the light had been a little better for photography (although I managed to do fine). I was there with a delegation and had to keep moving (a little faster than I would have liked).

The rock garden at Edinburgh was created in 1871 (but they grew alpines in pots before that). It has over 5000 taxa, many of them incredible plants from all the corners of the world. Plants were originally arranged geographically but only three of these gardens remain (the balance are mixed plantings).

Edinburgh has a wonderful alpine house surrounded by trough plantings and not far from its rock garden "back room" where production and growing on occur.

Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley (Great Britain)

Another of the crown jewels, Wisley's rock garden dates to 1911 and contains over 2600 taxa. Built on the side of a hill, it is one of the most picturesque. It has a relatively new waterfall feature and a wonderful alpine house, a feature sadly missing from many American gardens. Like its sisters at Kew and Edinburgh, a great emphasis is placed on the rock garden at Wisley and a significant investment in personnel and resources is directed to propagation and growing to supply the garden with a continuous stream of new material.

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (Great Britain)

Probably the grand dame of all rock gardens, the 1.25 acre effort at Kew packs in over 2650 taxa. Originally built in 1882, I affectionately refer to it as the "block garden" for its extensive use of what appears to be quarried, rectangular (it almost feels as if it's cut) stone. Beds are planted in a geographic arrangement with plants from certain areas being grown together.

The most striking feature of Kew's rock garden is the new, futuristic alpine house, opened just last year. Think flying saucer, crashed on-end in the British countryside. Innovative construction and environmental controls are the hallmark of this building. I haven't seen it finished and planted, but I can't wait!

Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg (Germany)

This garden is also planted geographically. It is said to have a wonderful 2.5 acre alpine garden in the Alps.

Universiteit Utrecht Botanic Garden (Netherlands)

The rock garden at Utrecht is one of the must see gardens of the world. Ironically, this is the one garden on the list where the plants are not the stars.

It features the innovative, creative use of recycled materials in the construction of one-of-a-kind planting spaces. Spheres, ramps, unusual troughs, and incredible, artistic stonework in walls break every rule you've learned about rock garden construction. This garden is guaranteed to get you thinking, and questioning.

A beautiful alpine house (which I've only seen in ONE picture) exists for coddling plants that don't do so well without added protection.

Denver Botanic Garden (USA)

Denver's rock garden is not huge, and no longer contains an alpine house (now given over to a very nice succulent display), but it's a plantsman's paradise. It features more than a dozen habitats (and let's stretch it to include the South African plaza and some of the native gardens featured outside its prescribed boundaries). The garden houses thousands of taxa, many collected in the wild by your friend and mine Panayoti Kelaidis--the godfather of American rock gardening.

It's outpost on Mount Goliath (the Mt. Goliath Alpine Trail) is a superb display of Colorado native plants, including a path through ancient Bristlecone Pines (and is on the way up to Mt. Evans, one of the 14,000 peaks--and a very accessible look at true alpines in the wild...NOT TO BE MISSED!).

E. H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden at UBC Botanical Garden (Canada)

The LAG is arranged by continent and spread across 2.5 acres. Given British Columbia's wonderful climate, a wide range of plants should be able to be grown.

Alpengarten Schynige Platte (Switzerland)

This is the first botanical garden in the Alps. Specializing in the alpine flora of Switzerland, its catalogue contains over 600 species, many which you'll recognize from our garden flora.

The garden has 1 km of trails and a 40m range in elevation (so there's a little up and down for visitors to negotiate).

Jardin Botanique de Montrèal (Canada)

Another of Canada's premier gardens, Montreal was established in 1936 (but not completed until 1962). Not just a great rock garden...it's really a rock garden--incorporating a mineralogical garden with rocks and minerals from all over Canada (what a concept!).

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, Vail Colorado (USA)

The Betty Ford garden is the second highest alpine garden in world (Denver’s satellite, Mt. Goliath Alpine Trail garden is higher)

Göteborgs Botaniska Trädgård (Sweden)

At 6000 taxa Goteborgs is one of the world's most diverse rock gardens. It, like others, is organized by continent. If you're ANYWHERE in Scandinavia, you should make the effort to see it.

The Patrick Seymour Alpine Garden at Devonian Botanic Garden (Canada)

One of the worlds newest rock gardens, the Patrick Seymour was established in 1976. Despite its youth, it has collected over 3000 accessions.

Tromso Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden, Norway

Tromso has the distinction of being the world's northern most botanic garden. Part of the Tromso Museum and Tromso University it is roughly four acres in size and arranged by geographic and botanical associations. It displays thousands of taxa in twenty separate collections.

The Rock Garden at The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY USA

O.K. You've all been waiting for it. Despite my past association with it, the rock garden at NYBG has to be included in anyone's list of the world's best. It's 2.5 acres in a slight bowl at the edge of the gardens primary forest. Containing many habitats, the garden hosts thousands of taxa--and used to have plants from all seven continents on display (I'm afraid the Antarctic representatives are no longer there).

It's been around for over 70 years and is the jewel in the crown of a fantastic botanical garden. Schedule plenty of time if you're going to visit!

Plan your vacations now! And if anyone has any additions, corrections or comments, please let me know.

See you at the garden!

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