Professor Kippenburg Aster was in bloom for Thanksgiving this year - and that is not a common thing. I plant it right up front just in case it has the time and the inclination but often it freezes hard and solid with its tight buds shut out from the glamor and bloom. We do have a short growing season so I usually surround it with other show stoppers that gradually fade as the season moves on. I want late colour - and love asters - but I don't want an empty dead zone up front. If the season ends too soon this can happen.
I take a lot of pictures just to record what happens throughout the seasons and this helps me notice the little things. This year I noticed what look like honeybees on my asters! (Apologies to Ken Fry, Olds College if I got this wrong). I also saw a ladybug at the top of a bag of leaves I had just rescued from the alley. I guess I rescued the leaves and the lady beetle because she crawled out and flew away as I opened the bag.
So this little blog entry is designed to let reader's know there is still some active wildlife out there. Insects we really need to help us in the garden and in our world. Be careful not to do anything that will harm these little guys. As the temperature gets cooler many insects will be going deep into the leaf nest (13 bags collected so far - spread out in my tiny back yard). So think of my fall yard as a cozy bed and breakfast. Blooms of asters to provide high energy pollen and leaves to rest in. What a place to come home to.
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