5 reasons why this book makes a great holiday gift!

You’re probably wondering why a book about a botanical garden in Vail, named for a First Lady (from Michigan) who is better remembered for her courage and resiliency in the face of huge personal struggles than her gardening prowess—think substance abuse, breast cancer and all those things that were swept under the rug in the mid 1970s—is worth a read.

Here are five reasons this book should be on your bookshelf:

  1. Beautiful photographs! If you’re a fan of mountain landscapes, the photography alone should be enough to make you want to put On the Roof of the Rocky Mountains on your coffee table.

  2. Betty Ford Alpine Gardens is an internationally-known leader in alpine plant conservation. But, it certainly didn’t get there overnight. To quote another First Lady, it takes a village to generate the foresight and funds to get any good idea off the ground, and this botanical garden is no exception. On the Roof of the Rocky Mountains gives readers an inside look at what it takes to create an organization that is internationally recognized as a leader in high alpine plant conservation.

  3. If scientific names really float your boat, this book is for you. The depth and breadth of horticultural and botanic knowledge contained in On the Roof of the Rocky Mountains was checked and double-checked by staff from Betty Ford Alpine Gardens as well as experts at the Denver Botanic Gardens and our trusty editors. No stone—or tiny alpine plant—was left unturned in our quest to show just how significant and relevant the Gardens’ botanic collections truly are. For example, every species of Aquilegia (otherwise known as columbine) that grows in North America can be found in the Gardens from the smallest, Aquilegia jonesii, to the Colorado state flower, Aquilegia coerulea, or Rocky Mountain columbine. One of the rarest plants in North America, the Parachute penstemon, Penstemon debilis, garnered a full page spread in the book, its delicate pink flowers captured so delightfully by photographer Todd Pierce.

  4. Guest essays by superstars from the botanic and plant conservation world point out the good work the Gardens is doing in context with a larger global effort to combat climate change and protect alpine ecosystems around the world. Peter Raven, author of The Biology of Plants (which every person over 40 who took Intro to Biology most likely read) leaves us with this gem: As human activities warm the climate beyond any natural limits, they progressively endanger the survival of remaining fragile alpine species. While we struggle to form international agreements that will slow, and eventually even halt these warming activities, they continue unchecked. Those who delight in the plantings at Betty Ford Alpine Gardens understand what we are losing and are united in an effort to save what we have left.

  5. And finally, if you need a break from the never-ending buzz of our daily lives, find a comfy chair and immerse yourself in the peace, tranquility, and beauty of Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. Imagine you’re in the Gardens, sitting on a bench next to the woodland stream. It’s mid-June and the candelabra primrose are in full bloom. Life is good.