Betty Ford Alpine GardensBetty Ford Alpine GardensBetty Ford Alpine Gardens
Mrs. Betty Ford said in 1991, “As someone who has always loved gardening, it fills me with a great sense of serenity. Just walking along these winding paths, with the abundance of beauty so close to the touch, brings an introspection & and sense of calm too often missing in our lives.”
“When I was a little girl, I spent many cherished hours with my mother in her garden,” Mrs. Ford said. “She wisely marked off an area for my very own plants. As we worked together, she nurtured me as she nurtured my love of gardening. This nurturing mother-daughter relationship, with its love growing strong in a garden, has been passed along to my daughter, Susan, & and her two girls.”
Founded in 1985 by the Vail Alpine Garden Foundation & and named in 1988 in honor of former first lady Betty Ford, the Gardens is located in Ford Park next to the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater–named in honor of her husband, the 38th president of the United States. The Gardens is a fitting tribute to this remarkable former first lady.
The original idea came through the collaboration of two longtime Vail residents, landscape designer Marty Jones & Helen Fritch, a gardening hobbyist who listened to Jones’ ideas for a botanical garden during a roadtrip an automotive journey through the Colorado High Country in 1983. “To a gardener like me,” says Fritch, now the Gardens’ president emeritus in memoriam, “it sounded like a good idea & and I got involved.” As the organization expanded in size & and commitment, an executive director & and garden staff were hired.
“When we first talked of plans for the Vail Alpine Gardens, I never dreamed it would grow and flourish to such magnitude. But as each season brings new blooms & and greater beauty to the Gardens, they become a source of infinite pride & and pleasure for all of us,” Mrs. Ford said. “I visit as often as I can, but it is never often enough. Each week provides a different, more beautiful picture.”
Learn more about Betty Ford and her life at the following websites:
Betty Ford Alpine Gardens began as a small display garden envisioned to demonstrate the variety of perennials that would grow at 8,200ft to the new and rapidly growing ski resort community.
The Gardens is named in honor of Betty Ford, located in Ford Park and next to the new Gerald Ford Amphitheater.
The Gardens grew in increments with new gardens added every few years. Docent tours, exhibits, workshops and education activities grew to be an integral part of programming.
The creation of the Alpine Rock Garden transformed the Gardens into a showcase both for using native plants in the landscape and for educating about the different ecosystems of the Rocky Mountains. The Rock Garden is home to the nationally accredited “Alpines of Colorado” living plant collection.
The Education Center is one of the most critical additions to the Gardens, providing a home for telling the story of the Alpine environment and creating a learning space for exhibits and special events.
In 2020, the Gardens published the North American Botanic Gardens Strategy for Alpine Plant Conservation, now the leading global document on alpine plant conservation and the core of a growing network of botanic and conservation organizations committed to preserving this unique and vulnerable ecosystem.
Now the Gardens is recognized both nationally and internationally for its commitment to conserving the beauty of the alpine environment through its displays, educational exhibits, and conservation programs. With increased awareness about climate change and its impacts on mountain environments, the Gardens is becoming ever more relevant and critical.