Fall is officially here! With fall comes cooler weather, apple cider, cozy sweaters, hayrides, leaf peeping, and pumpkin-flavored everything. It also means it is aster season! As our summer gardens are starting to slow down, colorful blooms can be few and far between. However, asters love the cooler weather and their blooms can provide long-lasting color in the landscape when everything else is ready for a winter’s rest. Fall is their time to shine. Asters come in all shapes and sizes and add hues of white, pink, purple, and blue to the conservation landscape. Most asters are drought tolerant, relatively pest free, and great for supporting pollinators such as monarch butterflies as they migrate south for the winter. What’s even better is that there is an aster that will do well for any spot in your garden.

A few of my favorites are:

Aromatic Aster ‘October Skies’ (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) - thrives in full sun to light shade- blooms into the first frost and beyond!
Smooth Blue Aster ‘Bluebird’ (Symphyotrichum laeve) - a beautiful shade of blue on upright stems; thrives in full sun to light shade.
White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata) - a great option to brighten up your shade garden; makes a great ground cover!

So, do yourself a favor and add a few asters to your garden this fall!

Just a sugg-Jeff-tion!

Jeff Popp, Director of Restoration