Summer on the Wane in the Sub-alpine

The last two days up at Paradise Meadows (located in Strathcona Provincial Park, BC) have definitely had a hint of the fall in the air. While this makes for good hiking weather (cool but not cold) it’s also a sign that the late summer bloom is nearly done and that the leaves will be changing colour soon. Most of the late summer flowers in the meadows are now in seed although you can still find a few bedraggled flowers here and there. For plant photography it’s time to focus on seed heads while waiting for the fall colours.

The photograph top left is the seed head of a Subalpine Daisy (Erigeron peregrinus) – fairly common in the meadows. The image top right is Menzies’ Burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii), a hybrid of the Sitka Burnet (S. canadensis) and the Great Burnet (S. officinallis). It was the only burnet flower that I could find that looked somewhat fresh!