Manning Park's Heather Trail with Cliff and Sue Booker, August 2, 2014

Cliff and Sue Booker visited Western Canada in July and August of 2014, as Cliff was going to be the featured speaker several rock garden club meetings. On August 2, Kirsten and I met them as they drove from Vancouver to Calgary, and joined them on a visit to the subalpine meadows of Manning Provincial Park, BC. Brent Hine, Curator of the Lohbrunner Alpine Garden at UBC, was supposed to meet us at the Manning Park Lodge but, uh, somehow, Brent and I got our timetables messed up... Here are a few of the highlights of our day on the Heather Trail and various trails in the vicinity of Manning's subalpine meadows.

Cliff looking at Lewisiopsis tweedyi a little past its 'best before date'. I found a few seeds and then accidentally proceeded to scatter them on the ground!

Early to mid August is the peak season for wildflowers in the vicinity of Manning Park's subalpine meadows, at about 1900m above sea level. Here the scene is dominated by Castilleja hispida, Anemone occidentalis and Lupinus arcticus.

Another shot of Anemone occidentalis seedheads. These are commonly known as "Tow Headed Babies".

Castilleja parviflora v. albida, Lupinus arcticus and possibly Arnica (A. latifolia?) overlook a valley of Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa).

Another look at Castilleja parviflora v. albida.

Do you recognize this Phlox diffusa from the background of this RockGardener.ca blog?

Penstemon davidsonii v. davidsonii - common to montane and subalpine habitats West of the Cascade Range, here near its easternmost limit.

The bog orchid Platanthera dilatata, one of our native orchids.

The circumboreal Chamerion latifolium (formerly Epilobium latifolium).

Close-up of Chamerion latifolium. I collected seed from this later on in the season.

I believe this Penstemon at the top of the photo to be P. serrulatus. It is stunning alongside Eriogonum umbellatum v. subalpinum

Close-up of the Penstemon and Eriogonum flowers. Glad to have both of these in the garden.

Delphinium nuttallianum perhaps a week or two too late.

Aquilegia formosa, Lupinus arcticus and an unkown yellow composite - possibly that Arnica latifolia again, or perhaps one of a few Senecio. Should have taken a closer look...

Another look at Aquilegia formosa.

Heuchera cylindrica - I'm going to grow one of these for the garden in 2015.

Phyllodoce empetriformis, otherwise known as Pink Mountain Heather, the namesake for this trail in Manning Park.

Ever wondered how Cliff gets his amazing photos?

Penstemon procerus. This is native and very abundant in my garden. 

It was a great day! Cliff and Sue had more adventures further eastward in the days that followed, with visits to Mt. Revelstoke, the Banff / Lake Louise area and more.