What's In Bloom

Alpine Plants in Season

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Always growing

Every season brings new blooms and discoveries to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens! At 8,200 feet in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, our alpine plants put on a remarkable display of color throughout the growing season.

Below are the estimated bloom times for some of our favorite plants and collections. Mountain weather and nature’s own rhythms mean exact bloom times can vary from year to year.

Plan your visit to catch your favorites at their peak or discover something new along the way. Some alpine flowers bloom for just a few days, while others brighten the Gardens for weeks. Visit often—there’s always something new to discover!

Early Season

Nodding onion – Allium cernuum
Serviceberry – Amelanchier alnifolia –
Shrub
Winecups – Callirhoe involucrata
Sulphur flower – Eriogonum umbellatum
Wallflower – Erysimum spp.
Prairie smoke – Geum triflorum
Blue Flax – Linum lewisii
Pasque flower – Pulsatilla patens
Flowering fruit trees including apples, pear, cherries, peaches and plums
Rocky Mountain penstemon – Penstemon strictus all penstemons are valuable plants
Yarrow – Achillea millefolium
Creeping Thyme – Thymus serpyllum (also woolly thyme)

Mid Season

Lead Plant – Amorpha canescens
Asters (many native and cultivar options, check with local nursery)
Pearly everlasting – Anaphalis margaritacea
Showy milkweed – Asclepias speciosa
Harebells – Campanula rotundifolia
Blanket flower – Gaillardia aristata
Salvia – Salvia nemorosa
Coneflower – Echinacea purpurea

Late Season

Russian Sage – Perovskia atriplicifola
Hummingbird plant – Zauschneria sp
English Lavendar – Lavandula angustifola
Blue Fortune Hyssop – Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’
Rocky Mountain bee plant – Cleome serrulata
Plains Coreopsis – Coreopsis tinctoria
Common sunflower – Helianthus annuus
Hairy False Goldenaster – Heterotheca villosa
Goldenrod – Solidago
Globe Mallow – Sphaeralcea

Live Garden View

See what’s happening at Betty Ford Alpine Gardens right now! Enjoy a live view from the Gardens and experience the changing seasons, mountain weather, and natural beauty of our alpine environment—wherever you are.

Love Flower Photos?

Visit our Instagram page for a feed full of a bouquet of blooms. Be sure to follow us for Floral Friday photo updates!