Things to do in Canton of Valais, Swiss Alps: The Best Gardens

The alpine garden Flore-Alpe is enchantingly situated at an altitude of 1500 metres overlooking Champex-Lac. At the foot of the Catogne, strolling the winding paths among the rockeries and bridges overlooking the pools of glacial water, visitors can contemplate the magnificent and unique panorama of Champex-Lac and the snow covered tops of the Combins.

The Dossen glacier garden invites visitors on a journey of discovery through the world of vanished glaciers and the traces they have left on the landscape. Above Furi (1,953 m), about 30 minutes’ walk from the cable car station, the Dossen glacier garden shows the effects of the last ice age on the landscape. The retreating Gorner Glacier, the second-largest in the Alps, has revealed a variety of glacier mills: rock cauldrons eroded by meltwater from the glacier. As the water flowed through crevasses to the bed of the glacier, it gathered into torrents and formed whirlpools with speeds of up to 200 km/h, which scoured cylindrical cavities in the rock. The site is also home to the remains of a soapstone quarry. The stone is soft and easily worked, and was popular for making crockery and the ornate ovens that can still be admired in the living rooms of many houses in the upper Valais. •30 minutes’ walk from Furi cable car station •Circular walk via suspension footbridge (90 m above the ground, 100 m long) •Glacier mills •Soapstone quarry •Barbecue sites close by

The Ricola visitor garden in the hamlet of Blatten south of Zermatt offers a feast for all the senses. An entertaining and informative adventure for the whole family. The garden is idyllically located beside old Valais chalets in Blatten, below Furi, at an altitude of about 1,700 m. Here, visitors can get to know the 13 plants that go into Ricola’s world-famous herb drops. Guests are not only allowed but actively encouraged to touch the herbs, rub them between their fingers, sniff and taste them. Information panels describe each plant and its properties. On show: horehound, burnet, cowslip, speedwell, plantain, yarrow, mallow, lady’s mantle, marshmallow, elder, peppermint, sage and thyme. •Competition with quiz •Recommended season for a visit: late-June to September •Family adventure