A botanical challenge

There are around 700 different Allium species known, many of them are a botanical challenge in cultivation. Allium? Never heard? The common name is leek. Most of us will immediately think of garlic, wild garlic or chives. Almost all alliums are edible, at least none are poisonous. The alpine gardener can immediately think of tons of dwarf species for the rock garden or the Alpinum. Alliums belong to the family Amaryllidaceae. The genus is found throughout the northern hemisphere. There are only 5 to 7 truly blue flowering species. In the Guggerbachtal Alpinum on the Schatzalp, one of the most beautiful and rarest Allium species is still blooming. It comes from the Himalayas, more precisely from Nepal and Sikkim as well as the neighboring countries facing northeast. It is up to 4800 m above sea level. M. still to be found. As can be seen in the picture, Allium sikkimense is also interesting for butterflies; they like to snack and spend the night on the plant.

Noble white of the mountain

There are an estimated 40 species of Edelweiss worldwide; they originally come from the Tibetan highlands and have conquered the mountains of the northern hemisphere over thousands of years and adapted to the locations.
The native Leontopodium alpinum is somewhat variable in flower height, timing and flower shape. One of our most beautiful varieties at the Alpinum Schatzalp is the shown variety, which blooms until autumn. Through the conquest of the Alps and their filming, the Edelweiss has become world famous. It is called Edelweiss in all languages. The wild species are protected plants worldwide. Below you find the lyrics by Richard Rodgers from The Sound of Music, film with Julie Andrews.

Edelweiss, edelweiss
You greet me every morning
Small and white, clean and bright
You seem happy to meet me
Snowblossom, may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss……
Bless my home forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss…….
You greet me every morning
Small and white, clean and bright
You seem happy to meet me
Snowblossom, may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
Edelweiss, Edelweiss……
Bless my home forever

Diversity ensures diversity

There are around 500 different species of knapweed worldwide; they belong to the family of Astaraceae. One of the most important species for insects is certainly the common scabious knapweed.
Centaurea scabiosa is often accepted by butterflies. Here it is visited by the Silver-Green Bluelings. The female is slightly larger and can be recognized by her brown upper side.
One of the most important reasons for a high insect population is the diversity of plantspecies. In the Guggerbachtal Alpinum, at Schatzalp, we find an extremely high population of butterflies.
Some days we literally walking through clouds of butterflies.
The knapweed is a native species that grows along roadsides, in semi-dry grassland communities on limestone, and is ideally adapted to warm climates.
Depending on the location, it grows to a height of 30 to 150 cm and delights us with its flowers from July to early autumn.

Bodyguards at Schatzalp

Beautiful plant combinations that also work in the long term are in demand. In the “Big Five Garden” we see Clematis orientalis with Geranium Wallichianum-Hybr. ‘Crystal Lake’ socialized.
It’s about more than just beauty, this combination has been delighting us for a number of years. The Geranium wallichianum come from Nepal and grow there in sparse forests, on forest edges and in the undergrowth on meadows. In Europe, they can fail in the winter when there is a sharp frost.
But with a bodyguard like the Clematis orientalis they are protected. The shoots of the clematis lie on the geraniums that deminish in in late autumn and thus ensure their winter protection, even if there is not that much snow.