In Autumn, Purple Asters is the name of my game. They are happily blooming in every nook and cranny.What's so great about Asters? Well, if you're dreading the onslaught of winter, they're just about the latest 'Daisy' to bloom in the garden.
They're good eats for our favorite hobos... traveling bees, butterflies, and birds.I've heard rumors that Asters come in white. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want a fall blooming white flower when we're inches away from a long, snowy winter but, what do I know...
Free Flowers!! Most of my Asters are wild. They began as weeds. After I discovered how pretty they were I promoted to them to flower status.Natives worth nurturing: Blue Woods Aster, New England Aster, New York Aster.
I asked the waiter standing outside the door of the steakhouse to find a corner table for "me, my colleague and the butterfly.""Right away, sir," responded the waiter, acting as if there was nothing extraordinary about a butterfly dropping in at a steakhouse... Read the rest of this marvelous story.
* What you need to grow Asters: Sun.Yup, that's it. They grow in dry, wet, clay, sandy soils, too cold to imagine Canada and too hot to handle New Mexico. The Migrating Monarch Magazine recently reviewed them as the 'perfect flower dinner for a long road trip!'
I have New England Asters. I brought them from my garden in Missouri to Colorado, then from my first house here to my second. They didn't mind one bit. I cut a big bouquet the day before yesterday. Only problem is cutting the flowers without disturbing the bees!
ReplyDelete(If I knew you were in the state, I would have hollered 'hello'!)
I love asters, I had some in my garden in Ca. They would get about 3 feet tall and spread by runners. I will have them again once I get around to landscaping, ie, when we are done with construction and big machines running about. I am hoping that will be next spring.
ReplyDeleteah yes, let me put up photos of mine. i have the ones, as you say, that grow wild in UT along the highways...
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I recently bought 10 acres of forested property south of Duchesne, Utah and it sits at 9,000 foot level. I need help knowing what flowers to plant to make it prettier. You can see a little bit of the environment on my blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.acabininthesky.blogspot.com
It is a mix of shade and sun, and it has a very huge exposed mountainside that faces the east and gets lots of sunlight all day. Any suggestions as to how to add some color in summer and fall?
Kim Spangrude
Blog: A Cabin In The Sky on blogspot
Thanks for the note, Kim. I'll check out your blog and send you some ideas. I have lots of seeds, if you'd like some let me know. Good to scatter them now, at the beginning of the snows.
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