One visit to the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens and your imagination will be fluttering with ideas for a secret garden for your Vail, Colorado real estate. Starting out small in 1985, a group of horticulturists from homes in Vail and Denver began raising funds to plant the first in what has become a collection of high-alpine gardens. Today, the three-acre plot at Vail’s Ford Park in the shadow of the Gore Range richly displays and conserves beautiful high-alpine flowers for the residents and visitors of real estate in Vail, encouraging flower displays throughout all of Vail Valley’s homes and businesses during the summer months. The Gardens are funded through memberships, endowments, honorariums, and other gifts such as the annual charity Cordillera Homes Tour.
At 8,250 feet above sea level, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens are the highest botanical gardens in the United States and possibly the world. From dawn to dusk, Memorial Day to Labor Day, tens of thousands of tourists freely marvel at the exquisite floral array along the quiet trails of the rock gardens. Special events, such as the day that children release budding caterpillars and fledgling butterflies into the gardens, turn the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens serve as a wonderful summertime community center.
The name of the Vail Alpine Garden Foundation was changed to honor part-time resident Betty Ford and her courageous fight with cancer. Garden time provides stress relief. The ADA-accessible Gardens are also visited by groups involved with horticultural therapy, including hospice, medically challenged families, and the child/adult mentor programs. In addition, kids learn about nutrition and participate in harvesting, washing, and preparing salads from the gardens that they plant.
Incredibly well organized, the nonprofit is recognized as a research laboratory and foremost authority on high-mountain flora. Its well-managed displays show the wide variety of plants that will actually thrive at 8,200 feet. All plants are labeled with botanical names, common names, family, and habitat—if this information is known. Several rare plants are monitored closely including the Dwarf Rocky Mountain columbine, Purple lady’s slipper orchid, Northern twayblade, Harrington’s penstemon, and the Canyon Bog orchid. Some of the plants are cultivated for the purpose of conserving endangered species, adding an educational element that sheds light on the biodiversity of the Rocky Mountain and other ecosystems.
A special Betty Ford Daylily blooms near the entrance honoring Betty Ford’s courageous fight. It blooms in unique shades of shimmering garnet to cardinal with a blue-red overlay stemming from a yellow-to-citron green throat.
The organic growth of the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens pleasantly surprised even Mrs. Ford. The Alpine Display Garden opened in 1987, followed by the Mountain Perennial Garden in 1989, the Mountain Meditation Garden in 1991, and the Alpine Rock Garden in 1999. Over the years, growth demanded an executive director and garden staff who are embellished by volunteers, docents, and interns designing and maintaining the immaculate gardens, giving educational tours, running the gift shop, and working on events.
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