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Round 2

2 years ago to this day I was in Edinburgh visiting RBGE and getting my first taste or European alpine houses. This trip was made possible by the Diana Aitchinson Fund which allowed me to visit many alpine houses in England and Scotland to better understand how they are built and used. The purpose of that trip was to bring back a better understanding on how to build one of my own.



Fast forward two years and a lot has changed. After my trip, Betty Ford Alpine Gardens built an alpine house and since then many plants have thrived in the tufa boulders and I have been very pleased with the success of this project. However, I feel that I have just only touched the surface of whats possible to grow inside this alpine house which is why I am going back to learn more about the propagation of new alpine species.

Alpine House at Betty Ford Alpine Gardens 

On this trip, I will be studying at Gothenburg Botanic Gardens with Johan Nilson and Henrik Zetterlund who are responsible for growing and maintaining the alpine collections Goteburg Botaniks. After a week in Sweden, I will be travelling back to Scotland where I will attend the SRGC Perth Show and visit with Julia Corden at the Explorers Garden in Pitlochry, and hopefully see some native alpines on one of the Bens (mountains). After a short stint up north I will travel back to Edinburgh where I will work with Elspeth MacKintosh and John Mitchell who are responsible for the alpine and rock garden collections at RGBE. My goal is to learn as much as possible on what they grow, how they grow these alpines, and be inspired to grow new species that Betty Ford Alpine Gardens has not yet grown.

Please join me on this adventure as I travel into the world of some of the greatest alpine growers and gardeners in Sweden and Scotland.

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