Strawberry Alpine

Fragaria vesca.

Each ripe fruit has a delectably intense, wild strawberry flavor. So, in our own back yards, where flavor is just as important as productivity, alpine strawberries are a delightful addition to the garden.

For centuries, Europeans planted alpine strawberries in their gardens in addition to harvesting them from the wild. But gardeners pretty much stopped growing them a couple of centuries ago, when the modern strawberry, a large-fruited and prolific hybrid of two American species, came on the scene.