Blooming Diversity: Experience the most beautiful hotel gardens in Switzerland

The forest, with its enchanting hiking trails and the roaring waterfall, is like a fairy tale.

To speak of rarities is to embrace diversity. Kartause Ittingen, located north of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau, perfectly embodies this. The venerable walls of the monastery complex are bordered by an equally historic garden, where caretakers have been dedicated to rose cultivation since the Middle Ages. This rich heritage has resulted in Switzerland's largest collection of historic rose varieties.

The Parkhotel Brenscino in Ticino is located near the Italian border in Brissago, in an idyllic setting with magnificent views over Lake Maggiore. A garden is included, though "park" is a more fitting term for the green space. It measures 38,000 square meters, or, to put it another way, over five football fields. Martin Russenberger is the master of this flourishing miniature universe. For over 35 years, he has cultivated and designed his domain with great attention to detail and a flair for subtropical plants. In doing so, he constantly discovers new things that surprise him.

A dedication to plants, appreciating them in all their complexity and diversity – this is the passion of Matthias Thalmann, who has been caring for the park at Schloss Wartegg near Rorschacherberg, right by Lake Constance, for over two decades. Around the magnificent estate, he exclusively cultivates organic produce. In many cases, he goes a step further, following the Demeter philosophy. The world's oldest organic label is fully committed to what is known as biodynamic agriculture.

This plant even made it onto the five-franc coin. It is a symbol of Switzerland and emblematically represents the mountains that define the country. The edelweiss has an unmistakable symbolic value and is, moreover, beautiful to behold. A small detail: there isn't just one type of edelweiss. In these latitudes, the Alpine edelweiss is commonly known. The species originally hails from the Himalayas. The full diversity of this impressive flower can be found in the botanical garden of Hotel Schatzalp in Davos.