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Annual Asters for the garden border

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Well it seems that my garden has finally got the message that winter is coming.

There are still some stubborn roses sticking around, but they are no longer alive. The cold got to them and they are just there. Actually I’m hoping that I can take some pictures of them with frost or a light coating of snow on them one of these days as I think that will probably look pretty.

There’s also one single clematis flower on the vine at the front of the house. Like the roses it’s dead, but it’s still holding it’s color. I’m sure it fooled a few people that might have noticed it.

Since I don’t have any pictures of frosty flowers or snow covered plants to show you today I’ll have to fall back on pictures that I took earlier this summer.

One flower that stands out is the annual asters that I grew this summer. They were so pretty! Such vibrant dusty rose pinks, purples, blue and white flowers.

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They started blooming in late July (if memory serves me) and continued to produce lovely blooms until early October.

The annual Aster plants are 12 inches or less in height so they are the perfect size for a garden border. I planted several of them in the open spaces at the edge of my raised garden beds, beside lavenders and hostas and they looked lovely.

Did you grow Asters this past summer?






Lovely Asters in bloom

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Peach colored aster

This lovely peach colored flower is growing within the asters that I planted in June. I think it’s an Aster as well, but it’s quite a bit different than all of the rest of the asters that I’m growing.

Purple asters

It seems like my asters are blooming earlier this year. I guess that’s due all the cool weather we had in July and the first two weeks or so of August. I think my Asters have been blooming for at least two weeks, maybe three.

Asters usually bloom well into Autumn – I hope that mine do this year considering their early start.

Do you grow asters in your garden for some fall color? I have several shades ranging from a bluish purple, to mauve, pink, and a deep rose. Oh and the peachy colored one above too!

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How to attract butterflies to your garden

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Back in 2002/2003 when my husband and I landscaped our backyard and created our raised bed garden I’d wanted to grow plants that would attract butterflies and birds to the garden. I spent the winter researching plants that would thrive in my area and that would attract butterflies. If they happened to have scent that was just a bonus!

Butterflies sip from the nectar of many flowers and their larvae eat the leaves of plants such as milkweed, so when planning a garden meant to attract butterflies you should keep all of their life stages in mind.

It’s also important that your butterfly garden be organic. You can’t use pesticides that kill a wide variety of insects as you’ll likely end up killing the butterflies that you desire.

Habitual zones and places where areas of the landscape meet with the tree lines are favorite safe places for them. They also search for areas that can shelter them from high winds, summer storms and rains. Shrubs and trees are good choices for plants that will provide them protective shelter. It is also helpful to find out what kinds of butterflies are native to your area so you can find appropriate plants for them.

Some plants that attract Anise Swallowtail and the Black swallowtail butterflies are fennel, parsley and dill.

Lupine flowers are a favorite with Fritillary butterfly and Snapdragons are a great choice of attracting butterflies that are native to your own area.

Gardens that offer a safe haven for butterflies will not only attract passing butterflies but likely encourage them to stay longer or to return frequently. Most butterflies are active in the mid to late summer, so it is important that you also have plants available to them during that time.

A home made butterfly feeding station might also be a great idea. You can make a feeder by using a small jar, a lid with a small hole drilled in the center and a piece of cotton to plug the hole in the lid. The nectar is made with 9 parts water and one part sugar. Very similar to hummingbird nectar actually. In fact if you have hummingbird feeders in your garden they might suffice as an additional area for butterflies as well.

Butterflies do not drink water from birdbaths, however they will drink water that puddles on large rocks or from areas where water has gathered on the soil after a rain storm.

As your plants mature you’ll likely see more and more butterflies visiting your garden each year. I know that’s been the case with our garden. We have quite the variety of wildlife that seek out our garden.

Here’s a list of plants that attract butterflies:

Annual Plants and Flowers

  • Anethum graveolens dill
  • Bidens alba shepherd’s needles
  • Coreopsis tinctoria calliopsis
  • Coriandrum sativum coriander
  • Cosmos bipinnatus cosmos
  • Cosmos sulphureus orange cosmos
  • Foeniculum vulgare Florence fennel
  • Gomphrena globosa globe amaranth
  • Helianthus annuus common sunflower
  • Petroselinum crispum parsley
  • Phaseolus vulgaris common bean
  • Tithonia rotundiflora Mexican sunflower
  • Zinnia elegans zinnia
  • Zinnia haageana Mexican zinnia

Perennial Plants

  • Achillea millefolium common yarrow
  • Allium tuberosum garlic chives
  • Asclepias curassavica scarlet milkweed
  • Asclepias tuberosa butterfly weed
  • Aster tataricus Tatarian aster
  • Clerodendrum indicum tubeflower
  • Conoclinium coelestinum mistflower
  • Coreopsis verticillata whorled coreopsis
  • Coreopsis grandiflora coreopsis
  • Cuphea hyssopifolia Mexican false heather
  • Cuphea ignea cigar plant
  • Cuphea micropetala tall cigar plant
  • Echinacea purpurea purple coneflower
  • Echinops ritro small globe thistle
  • Erythrina herbacea coral bean
  • Eupatorium fistulosum Joe Pye weed
  • Gaillardia pulchella blanket flower
  • Gamolepis chrysanthemoides African bush-daisy
  • Glandularia puchella moss verbena
  • Hedychium coronarium ginger lily
  • Helianthus angustifolius narrow-leaved sunflower
  • Helianthus tuberosus Jerusalem artichoke
  • Heliopsis helianthoides oxeye sunflower
  • Lycoris squamigera surprise lily
  • Melissa officinalis lemon balm
  • Monarda didyma beebalm
  • Monarda punctata spotted horsemint
  • Narcissus spp. daffodil
  • Pentas lanceolata pentas
  • Phlox paniculata garden phlox
  • Pycnanthemum floridanum Florida mountainmint
  • Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii orange coneflower
  • Rudbeckia hirta black-eyed Susan
  • Ruellia brittoniana Mexican petunia
  • Russelia equisetiformis firecracker plant
  • Salvia lyrata lyreleaf sage
  • Salvia coccinea scarlet sage
  • Salvia guaranitica blue anise sage
  • Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’ Indigo Spires sage
  • Salvia leucantha Mexican bush sage
  • Scabiosa columbaria butterfly blue
  • Sedum spectabile showy sedum
  • Tagetes lemmonii mountain marigold
  • Verbena bonariensis purpletop verbena

Shrubs

  • Buddleja davidii butterfly bush
  • Caesalpinia pulcherrima peacock flower
  • Cephalanthus occidentalis buttonbush
  • Cestrum nocturnum night blooming jasmine
  • Choisya ternata Mexican orange
  • Clethra alnifolia sweet pepperbush
  • Duranta erecta golden dewdrop
  • Hamelia patens firebush
  • Heliotropium arborsecens common heliotrope
  • Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis Chinese hibiscus
  • Hypericum frondosum golden St. John’s wort
  • Justicia brandegeana shrimp plant
  • Lantana camara lantana
  • Lantana montevidensis trailing lantana
  • Leonotus leonurus lion’s ear
  • Malvaviscus penduliflorus Turk’s cap
  • Odontonema strictum firespike
  • Pittosporum tobira Japanese mockorange
  • Plumbago auriculata leadwort
  • Prunus angustifolia Chickasaw plum
  • Rhododendron austrinum Florida flame azalea
  • Rhododendron canescens pinxter azalea
  • Rosa laevigata Cherokee rose
  • Salvia elegans pineapple sage
  • Salvia greggii Autumn Sage
  • Salvia mexicana Mexican sage
  • Senna pendula Cassia bicapsularis

Trees

  • Cassia roxburghii Ceylon senna
  • Citrus meyeri Meyers lemon
  • Citrus sinensis sweet orange
  • Coccoloba uvifera sea grape
  • Fortunella spp kumquat
  • Jatropha integerrima peregrina
  • Sassafras albidum sassafras
  • Vitex agnus-castus hemp tree
  • X Citrofortunella microcarpa calamondin

Vines

  • Antigonon leptopus Mexican creeper
  • Aristolochia elegans Calico flower
  • Campsis radicans trumpet creeper
  • Clerodendrum splendens flaming glorybower
  • Cuscuta spp dodder
  • Dolichos lablab hyacinth bean
  • Helianthus debilis beach sunflower
  • Ipomoea quamoclit cypress vine
  • Lonicera japonica Japanese honeysuckle
  • Lonicera sempervirens coral honeysuckle
  • Passiflora caerulea blue passionflower
  • Passiflora incarnata maypop
  • Passiflora racemosa red passionflower
  • Phaseolus coccineus runner bean
  • Pseudogynoxys chenopodioides Mexican Flame Vine

It’s certainly not to late in most areas to start a few of these plants or perhaps buy some seedlings or potted plants from a nursery.

Get started on your butterfly garden now.

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