Wild in the Alps

For a certain big birthday celebrated earlier this year - we were kindly offered a chalet in the Alps for a few days holiday - as well as a fabulous break it was a bit of a busman's holiday!

The weather was lovely, the sun shinning, and very hot, whilst the air felt crisp and clean - none of the drizzly damp stuff we are used to here.  After a short drive we arrived at the bottom of a valley in the National Parc de la Vanoise.  Rather than me dribbling on, here are some pictures of the things we saw. 

Some beautiful butterflies to start with ....

Yet to identify this one... any suggestions welcome

High Brown Fritillary

The Scarce Copper

Dappled White Butterfly

So many of our clients request wild flower meadows and we both try to explain how difficult that is in our county of rich farmland.  The Olympics showed off beautiful carpets of wild flowers and over recent years The Chelsea Flower Show has offered more examples of the same, so the demand continues.

We have tried several products on the markets, such as wildflower mats and packs of specialist seeds, all with fairly dismal results.  I now understand even better why these products are so limited.  See blog next week for pics and the answer to wild flower meadows!