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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Asters


What is lovelier this time of year? Many things equally but surely none more lovely than these bright royal purple flowers. They are a sign of the season, these colorful stars of earth. I woke thinking of their name and of stars, and found that Flandrum Hill's thoughts had taken the same direction. The asters in this post are blooming in Northport, outside my friend Sally's shop, Dolls and More, but they are also blooming in the meadow behind my farmhouse and along the roadsides, mixed in with goldenrod. "Asters!" I exclaim in delight, as we drive by a wild stand of them, and David's association is always the same: "Mrs. Astor's horse." I have no idea what that means.

As so often happens, a closer, lingering look today revealed much more going on, an entire world of activity, the blooms and the still, sunny day having brought bees by the dozens. Making honey, making hay, making memories. Now is the time.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh! Your images are so lovely and colorful! The blooms seem like they are just barely open here.

What a sweet coincidence that we are both thinking of them :)

Gerry said...

Oh, pretty! I've been holding out for royal purple ones, and you found them.

P. J. Grath said...

Thanks for visiting, Amy-Lynn. My mind just won't stop working on all those astra-words.

Gerry, I actually planted the asters by Sally's shop, back when my bookstore was in that location, but I also have these same asters in my wildflower meadow, which is also lovely with coneflowers, tall grasses, goldenrod and, still, the deep-purple vetch I think is called common vetch but which I always call cow vetch.

Anonymous said...

I think it's crown vetch, Pamela. But, whatever!

P. J. Grath said...

Crown vetch is a pale pink, in rounded clusters. This other vetch is dark purple, strung out long like sweet peas but with smaller (and darker) blossoms. Crown v. was planted for erosion control as far back as the 1960s. I don't know that anyone plants cow vetch, but it regularly invades fields.