Aster family

The aster family is one of the largest families of perennial flowers on this earth.  Members of this diverse family bloom from spring to fall in shades of pink, yellow, blue and white.  Bees and butterflies love to visit these beautiful flowers on these easy going plants.

The first to appear in the spring is Senecio aurea, golden ragwort.  In the cold days of March, the ray flowers on this native plant open as tiny gold stars on short green stems that stand stiffly above the leaf litter.

By April, this plant is a sea of yellow flowers that look fantastic with blue woodland phlox, Virginia bluebells and Jacob's ladder.

Another spring aster is Stokesia laevis, Stoke's aster.

Among my favorite asters is the purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, which blooms beside the driveway in spring through summer.

Next to bloom are the summer asters, including Black-eyed Susans, Rudbeckia fuldiga

And ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis

Ironwood spreads easily by seed and once established, the roots are formidable. Many gardeners cut off the spent flowers from the ironweed before the plant seeds itself around the garden.

Another tough plant is Coreopsis tripteris.  Last year, I pulled these plants out but they came back anyway, to the delight of our neighborhood goldfinches.

The false sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides, thrives in the heat of summer.  Here it shares a space with red Pentas.

Swamp sunflowers are tall and strong growers.  For several years, they wandered around my garden until they found a spot they liked.  Now they cluster near the entrance to the driveway.

Helens flower (Helenium autumnale) also appreciates a damp sunny site.  This one doesn't have enough sun or water, but every year it throws off a few flowers to delight the bees.

The white flowers of the Eupatorium rugosum do not have the typical rays that we have come to expect on our asters. This one serves as a background to the magenta berries of the beautyberry bush (Callicarpa americana).

Rough leaved goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) is pollinated by tiny flying insects.  The cultivar "Fireworks" was introduced by the North Carolina Botanical Garden and here it mingles with red pentas. 

Green headed coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) enjoys damp and shady conditions.

Aster laevis begins to bloom in September. The cultivar "Bluebird," has blue rays and yellow centers. Bees flock to these flowers and when the centers are pollinated, the color changes from yellow to brown.

Two weeks later Bluebird asters are stunning at their peak.

Last to bloom are the white wood asters.  The small white flowers are not showy, but the plant thrives in dry shade under a mature canopy of trees, a rare asset in the shade garden.

In my garden, the asters have a disease called aster yellows, which is transmitted through the leaves by insects.  There is no cure, except to discard the plant.  Sadly, as the disease spreads, these plants will all need to be replaced.  

Let's enjoy them while we can.