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My enthusiasm for alpine plants
This passion now lasts for more than 20 years increasing more and more each year. These plants we discover in our mountains are beautiful, are rare, have a short time blooming. For most of them, their cushion aspect is due to the fact they grow at high altitudes where the winds are cold and violent, where the snow, ice and exposed faces do not allow them to grow anarchically.
These plants, we all admired them : deep blue Gentians on high meadows, bright yellow Drabas on rocks, androsaces in compact cushions incrusted in alpine clefts such as gemstones in a case. This flora, I wanted to discover it, to know it, to understand it, to like it. Mountains are often far from us, and our dreams can allow us imagine them, unless ... As soon as I acquired a garden I told me I could, perhaps, realise my dreams. And that’s what I did ! Oh of course not in the first week. I needed before to imagine my small massif and my garden is not the Vanoise massif. I then read specialised books and began to build my first rock garden.
From that date I made it again several times and decided to build others because experience is acquired by building and in profiting of past errors. The next step consists of planting. However for planting you need to know plants : to which genus they belong to. What is their height, the color of their flowers, of their leaves too. And this, you cannot guess it, you will only learn it through your readings thanks to specialised books. In fact, plants have latin names to differentiate each from other. Mammals, insects, all alive beings are identified under a latin name so that a name can not refer to several individuals.
A word of advice if you like alpines, the best is you contact a botanical society which edits a bulletin in which you will find all informations you may need on plants, their culture, their description, on how to build a rock garden, where to find the best sites on the web, and the specialised documentation and overall how to get the plants often rare or very rare you dream to grow in your garden.
Most of botanical societies offer many activities such as seed exchanges, bulletins, botanical travels, shows , etc, against a modest subscription. Of course, as everyone, you will have setbacks and successes as well. This passion invades you quickly, it allows you to forget your worries and brings you a lot of happiness. What a pleasure to receive and exchange seeds from Himalaya, Rocky Mountains, Siberia or from Patagonia and to admire these plants growing in your garden.
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