“This is the treacherous month when autumn days / With summer’s voice come bearing summer’s gifts. / Beguiled, the pale down-trodden aster lifts / Her head and blooms again.” — Helen Hunt Jackson
Our native flora is on its last gasp. After a long spring, summer and fall full of the rich tapestry of native flowers, once again, the curtain closes on the floral parade.
It’s been this way since long before humans came along to discover, describe, name and enjoy the roughly 1,800 native species found within Ohio .
As always, the diverse cast of asters is prominent at the curtain call. Most asters are fall bloomers, and many species are quite hardy and sport flowers up to and even past the first frosts.
Species such as aromatic aster, calico aster and frost aster are hanging on as I write this, and I can see flowering specimens in my yard.
The family of plants that asters belong to is generally called the sunflower family, but asters drive the family’s scientific designation ( Asteraceae ). This is the largest family of plants in the world, followed by the orchid family ( Orchidaceae ).