Page:Canadian Alpine Journal I, 1.djvu/195

130 THE MOUNTAIN WILDFLOWERS OF WESTERN CANADA

There is a region in Western Canada where the most exquisite wildflowers in the whole world bloom above the clouds; not singly or in groups, but in beds and banks these blossoms of every hue, and size, and form flourish with a rich luxuriance in the alpine meadows of the Rocky and Selkirk ranges, that recalls those tropical gardens only to be found on the irrigated fringe of the desert. Yet how much more ethereal in texture and coloring are these hardy alpine plants, growing at an altitude of from 3000 to 9000 feet above the level of the sea, than their fellow-flowers which grace the sultry lands of the Orient.

In the Western mountain ranges lies the real Garden of Nature in Canada. It is a wild garden, and wild are its surroundings, a beautiful wilderness of wilding bloom, fragrant with the breath of Heliotropes and Violets, and glorified by the sheen of scarlet Indian Paint-brushes, yellow Arnicas, and purple Phacelias.

Among the mountains there are plants peculiar to each particular locality, though there are also hundreds of species which abound equally in all the various districts. At Banff, in the Rockies, the wildflowers are within the reach of all; for there they grace the low-lying meadows in every direction, are found in the thick forests, and out upon the dry stony slopes of the hillsides. At this spot it is quite unnecessary to climb