Stars of the Plant World

Along the large pond at Welkinweir, in an area that has not been mowed this year, a sea of flowers have been putting on a show for weeks.  One is a wave of delicate purple; the other adorned with lacy white.  When the growing season appears to be coming to an end, asters finish strong.  They are a "must-have" plant for fall interest.  Mt Cuba put together a nice document on asters for the mid-Atlantic region and that can be found here: Mt Cuba Aster Report

The name aster has its origin in the Greek word for "star."  The flowers do give the impression of many twinkling stars.

Asters can be found all throughout Welkinweir, just about anywhere the grass has been allowed to grow tall.

There are many kinds of asters, and I only know the identity of a few I have included here.

New England aster

The purple was much more brilliant the week prior but I delayed photographing it a little too long.

Aster tartaricus

This aster is planted outside the Children's Garden and is taller than me.  It is not yet at peak bloom and may be one of the latest blooming asters.  Asters can be found in many colors, but purple and white are the most common for the ones growing wild here.

The leaves are starting to turn at Welkinweir! Stop by for a visit.  http://welkinweir.org/