In the twilight of the gardening year, one native plant soldiers bravely on, the ex-aster laevis, Symphyotrichum laeve 'Bluebird'. The bees and other pollinators have been feasting on it and sleeping in it.
The poor bumblebees were desperately clinging to it during yesterday's wicked wind.
We now interrupt this post for a short video of said wind.
This wasn't the worst of it, but I refused to stand out there while it was really wild. The other "tombstones" got blown down, and that last one ended up by the side of the driveway by evening.
We now return to our regularly scheduled post.
The pollinators prefer this ex-aster to all others, practically pushing each other out of the way.
'Bluebird' starts blooming a bit later than the New England ex-asters and blooms longer. It looks particularly good with prairie grasses.
It does not go quietly into that long goodnight. The foliage turns brilliant red before it fades and dies.
Thanks goes to Gail of Clay and Limestone for hosting Wildflower Wednesday.