Albion Basin blooms into wildflower heaven

Located at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, above the town of Alta, is the incomparable Albion Basin, which features stunning displays of wildflowers. With an elevation near 10,000 feet and a snowfall last year of more than 700 inches, it is not the typical vegetation of the nation's second-driest state.

The number of plants is astonishing. The Utah Nature Study Society gives this information on its Web site:

"It is said that there are more different varieties of wildflowers growing here than in any other area of similar size in the United States. At this high elevation, alpine and sub-alpine plants are found, which do not occur on the foothills or lower in the canyon. But many of the plants which do live lower down, also bloom here. (Only they bloom later here than they do at the lower elevations.) So this basin is a meeting place of several different habitats."

The U.S. Forest Service has a downloadable checklist that covers 120 species of plants. Dr Sherman Brough, a retired botanist, lists more than 210 species in his publication "Identification of Flowers in the Albion Basin" and he adds more each year. In short, this is wildflower heaven.

The amazing part of visiting the high mountain meadows is the continuous splendor. I see many plants that grow in local gardens, as well as others that have been seen nowhere else. Some bloom for many weeks, while other are fleeting, and finding them takes a sharp eye and several trips as the snows give way to summer heat.

Columbine (Aquilegia) has a unique flower with backswept spurs. They get 2 feet tall with blossoms that range from white to deep blue. They are excellent perennials for spring gardens.

Common alumroot — or littleleaf coralbell (Heuchera) is a plant that thrives in our alkaline soils. Look for it growing out of limestone boulders with wispy strands of white or greenish flowers. Red alum root is a similar plant with red flowers. There are dozens of improved nursery cultivars of this plant.

Leafy Jacobs ladder (Polemonium foliosissimum) is blooming abundantly right now. It likes a rich soil and some moisture. The light green stems grow 2 feet high, and the blossoms are in clusters with white or blue coloration.

Sticky geranium and Richardson's geranium are true geraniums, not the plant called geranium in garden stores. Sticky geranium is a round, bushy plant 16-30 inches high. It is covered with many rose-pink flowers and dark, deeply cut green leaves. Richardson's geranium has lighter colored flowers that are sometimes pure white. It prefers a moister environment.

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