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E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden
One of the premier alpine gardens in North America
University of British Columbia Botanical Garden visitors have the rare opportunity to roam from the Andes to coastal Morocco, the Canary Islands, or the crossroads of Asia Minor, in the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden. Of interest to all visitors to the one hectare (two-and-a-half acres) site is the feature of plants groupings in areas of geographic origin.
It is a challenge to duplicate the wide variety of native habitats around the world. To take full advantage of the garden's microclimate, tons of pyroxine andesite - a lightly porous volcanic rock - have been arranged on a sunny southwest-facing slope.
Rock outcrops and soil mixes simulate the varied condition under which alpine plants naturally grow. Alongside areas of gravel soil are pockets of rich humus found in woodlands. Dry, arid conditions are supplemented with shady, damp areas in which some alpines thrive, adding significantly to variety and quantity.
The experience of discovering plants in continental groupings is further enhanced by the maturity of slow-growing dwarf conifers and other spectacular small trees used in scale with alpines against a backdrop of native trees.
Adjacent to the most prominent collection - North American alpines - are gentians, pinks, thymes and veronicas from European meadows. Orchids flourish near the internationally acclaimed UBC introduction Genista pilosa 'Vancouver Gold'. From Australasia, particularly New Zealand, are yew-like conifers and white daisies that bloom in the vicinity of specimens from Chile and Argentina, Algeria, and south of Mediterranean in Africa, from the Atlas to the Drakensburg Mountains.
