Tag: Short’s Aster
Supernova: an Explosion of Asters
The name Aster comes from the Greek word for star. At this time of year, it feels like the Asters are exploding into a sort of floral supernova.
September Bloom Day: Not Quite Fall
September is a transitional month. Summer fades away as fall creeps in. Let’s see what’s in bloom at the mid-point of this ninth month of the year.
Last Flowers Standing
It’s the middle of October and the garden is getting drowsy, sliding into its annual decline. In fact I was thinking of calling this post Decline and Fall (get it – fall?), but Judy says I use too many puns. Although, some of the roses are having a late season spurt of energy, particularly our …
Companion Plants for Asters
Aster means “star”, and certainly Asters are stars of the autumn garden. But stars need supporting actors, or the show can be pretty boring. For example, those one person shows where the star spends two hours impersonating, say, Teddy Roosevelt. Be honest, would you pay good money to see that? I didn’t think so. Which …
The Garden in Mid-September
Happy Bloom Day! On the 15th of every month Carol from May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, enabling gardeners to share and compare what’s in flower in their little patch of earth. In our garden the most bountiful blooms at the moment are provided by Brown-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba). This Rudbeckia makes me …
Light in October
In September, Autumn feels like a vacation from Summer. The cooler weather and softer light are both refreshing. At a certain point in October, though, it starts to feel as if you are preparing to leave a beloved place. The sun is so low in the sky that even the middle of the day feels …
Asters Famous and Obscure
I love asters. I love their clouds of little flowers, the way they positively hum with bees, the fresh color that they add to cool autumn days. In my garden there are a number of aster species, some commonly found in gardens, others more easily found in the wild. I want to write about three …
A Little Slice of Fall
Autumn seems to be taking over in a hurry. Suddenly I find I need to wear a jacket when I go outside. The Crooked Stem Aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides) is covered with tiny sky blue flowers. Then there is Big Leaf Aster (Symphyotrichum macrophyllus). I have finally admitted to myself that Big Leaf Aster (or as …
Winners and Losers in the Battle of Dry Shade
My back garden raised bed has been something of a permanent work in progress. I was in my Raised Bed Period when I created it. Somewhere, I really can’t remember where, I had read about the virtues of raised beds. Over the next couple of years I created four of them in the garden. Anyway, …
Poll: What To Plant Along The Sidewalk?
There’s a flower border along my front sidewalk. I’m not satisfied with it. The issue is what to plant up against the sidewalk, between the Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana) at one end and the Monarda, Short’s Aster (Aster shortii), and Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) at the other. It needs to be something relatively low-growing. When I first …
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