GARY CHURCH: Asters add extra color to the fall

October 03, 2008 10:31 am

— Several years ago, I liked to watch “The Incredible Hulk” on TV.
This guy, when triggered, could change from being a calm guy into a raging green giant. This is called a metamorphosis, sort of like the caterpillar and butterfly.
They ought to do a TV show about my wife because she does a metamorphosis. She is usually a quiet person. She’s nice, but not one of those people you would invite to a party for the entertainment, unless you find hospital cafeteria stories funny.
That all changes when my 4-year-old grandson, Austin, enters the room. She becomes Bozo the Clown. She makes him laugh, plays with him and entertains him for hours. He really loves his grandmother.
On the other hand, it doesn’t matter if I’m home or not. He doesn’t seem to find me working the crossword puzzle exciting. I take a back seat when his grandmother is around.
When it comes to fall flowers, asters are the ones that take a back seat. Garden mums are what everyone decorates with. Their variety of color and large blooms outshines the smaller flowering asters.
Asters do have their place. Their blue/violet flowers are a color you wouldn’t normally have blooming this time of year.
My really old brother, Paul, called me one day from a discount store and wanted to know if asters were perennial. None of the employees knew the answer.
Yes, they are hardy. If you drive along the highway and look at the blue or white nickle-size flowers with a yellow center blooming now, those are wild asters.
There are usually several varieties growing together in a field. A common mistake high school students make, when doing a wildflower collection is, they think because a flower is a different color, it’s a different species. This is not the case with the aster.
There are 30 varieties of asters native to Pennsylvania. I’ve seen students think they have five or six different wildflowers, when they are all asters. Since they bloom in September, when most wildflower assignments are given, I’m sure the teachers get a lot of them.
The word “aster” is the Latin word for “star.” They grow in full sun anywhere between 2 feet to 5 feet tall. Pinching them back in mid-July will help keep them shorter.
There are newer varieties, such as the Woods Series, that are dwarf and only grow 8 inches high. They come in pink, purple, and blue.
Because they bloom so late, they are a great food source for bees when most summer flowers have gone. While visiting my friend Jim’s house the other day, I noticed, per his wife Dee’s instructions, Jim had thrown away all the summer flowers. Since they had no asters, a bee thought my arm might be something to snack on. I guess it didn’t like me because it stung me.
I know there is a shortage of bees and we need to preserve them, but this one had an immediate heart attack after stinging me. Probably tramping on him didn’t help either.
I informed Jim that I would be suing him.
He asked me, “What color was the bee?”
I said, “Yellow and black.”
He said, ”That was my pet bee and I will be suing you.”
My suggestion is, next spring when you are looking at all the gorgeous perennials at the greenhouse, look ahead and pick up an aster or two for a little color in September. The bees will thank you and maybe they will leave my arm alone.
I guess I shouldn’t be mad at the bee. I mean, how often do I get mistaken for a cute little flower.
I wonder if Dr. Berkley has glasses for bees?
Make your space a green space.
(Gary Church is a columnist for The News.)

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