This summer I was fortunate to head to Europe for vacation and spent a fantastic week exploring the French Alps and the Lakes District of Italy (more on the latter in the next post).
La Grave, a small town in France, served as my home base for a few days of hiking in the Alps. While La Grave/La Meije (the mountain that towers over the small town) is best known for fairly hard core skiing in the winter, it is also an incredible area for hiking and exploration during the summer months.
One of the hikes I took was a fantastic study in alpine meadow plants. Around every turn, the bright colors of these plants showed off against the clear blue sky. Also a great study in sustainability; plants that thrive in alpine conditions do so despite drought, exposure, huge temperature swings, and thin rocky soil. These are plants that tend to self seed and they come back, year after year, with no cultivation.
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| Gymnadena conopsea showing off against a glacial lake |
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| Armeria alpina graces the trail |
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| The Lautaret Alpine Garden |
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| Alchemilla mollis and Gymnadena conopsea in graceful masses |
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| Achillea and Aconitum on display |
One of the highlights of the day was a visit to the Lautaret Alpine Botanic Garden. This garden had an incredible collection of alpine plants and was a gorgeous place to spend a sunny afternoon in the mountains.
