Asters - the autumn flowers

See photos in full sizeIn spring and summer you can view a great riot of colors of various flowers practically in any garden. On the contrary, in autumn the assortment of blossoming plants decreases: significant frost damages many flowers and trees. Here comes the question: what can you do - how can you extend the charm of the autumn garden up to the very snow-fall? The answer is rather evident: evergreen plants (such as mahonia), and a variety of coniferous (fir-trees, thujas, junipers, etc.) are very helpful when it comes to reviving faded colors of the autumn garden. And, certainly, those gardeners, who have thought of the sea of autumn flowers, will be absolutely in use as well.

Thus, there is a fine flower, widely known as an aster (Aster) which is translated from Latin as a "star". As well as many bright stars, burning in a cold autumn sky, there appear perennial aster flowers in all their beauty at the end of the garden season. The family of Asteraceae (Asteracea L.) has more than 500 kinds of wonderful plants and a great variety of grades of these autumn flowers. And it is the fact, that the big assortment of long-term autumn asters allows to fill the garden with gentle and bright flowers of any possible colors and shades, is of the most importance as far as the ordinary gardener is concerned.

The height of the dense bushes of asters ranges from 20 cm to 1.5 m (Aster novi-belgii) and even up to 2 meters (Aster novae-angliae). These types of autumn flowers bloom profusely from September up to strong frosts. By the way, it should be mentioned, that in comparison with magnificent one-year-flowered aster, the florets of perennial plants are medium-sized, but they are revealed in a great variety of bushes, each of which can easily form a rich bouquet.

Perennial aster flower is very cold-resistant and unpretentious, it doesn't need much care. These plants prefer a solar place though they can put up with penumbra as well. Aster flowers like mild, water-permeable, loose soils, well filled with organic and mineral fertilizers. During a drought asters are very responsive to regular watering. Besides, it is recommended to divide and plant out or transplant the overgrown and tough rhizomes of these autumn flowers once every 3-5 years in spring. It will make it easy to propagate these plants.

Both low and tall flowers of aster are widely used in the landscape design. Thus, in autumn, up to the beginning of hard frosts the mini-wall of low-growing flowers turns from green one into the colorful due to this continuous floral carpet. Though the bouquets, composed of asters, can not be viewed as the "long-livers", they still look very attractive and presentably. And the appropriately treated inflorescences of perennial aster will be very useful in the arsenal of florists working with dried flowers. Thus, it is evident, that an aster flower is a very good way out for your garden in autumn!