Flore-Alpe botanical garden, Alpine botanical garden in Champex-Lac, Switzerland.
Flore-Alpe is a botanical garden in the mountains near Orsières, located at roughly 1500 meters elevation. The garden displays around 4000 different plant species across its grounds and specializes in alpine and mountainous habitats.
Jean-Marcel Aubert (1875–1968), a Vaud industrialist who founded a cable factory in Cossonay, bought a 500 m² plot at Champex in 1924 and enlarged the small mayen there into his summer residence. Advised by garden architect Henry Correvon, he laid out the garden from 1925, and it opened to the public in 1931. A foundation created in 1967 on his wish, with Geneva and Neuchâtel, has been run by Valais and Orsières alone since 2008.
The garden displays plants from different mountain regions across Europe, and visitors can observe how alpine species thrive at various elevations. The layout follows geographic zones, helping people understand which plants grow together in their natural mountain homes.
The best time to visit is between May and October when the garden is open to visitors and the paths are easy to walk. Good footwear is recommended since the ground can be uneven and the high elevation may feel tiring at first.
The site hosts the Alpine Center for Plant Geography, which actively researches mountain ecosystems and maintains collections from various European mountain regions. This scientific work allows the garden to regularly share new findings about alpine habitats with visitors.
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