An exciting new development has been realised after nearly a decade of careful planning, design work, fundraising and plant collecting.
The dramatic ‘tufa house’, which opens to the public this week, adds a new dimension for the 21st century to our already renowned cultivation of alpine plants.
The entire landscape of the new Alpine House features tufa – a specially porous form of limestone. This is especially suited to nurturing montane plants from the many limestone ranges across the globe, and significantly improves the quality and survivability of plant material once brought in from the wild. The massive limestone cliff that is sheltered beneath the glazed canopy of the house is complemented by a surrounding tufa boulder area.
Over the coming years a host of wild collected specimens will be established and progressively cloak the naked pale rock faces. Come back and see how the plantings develop over the seasons.
Progress of the new Alpine House
Drilling to planting the tufa wall