Månedens favorittvekst og Blo-Ma; Asters

From my garden today

The aster flower is not a single flower. While the aster may look like a single flower, it is actually a collection of very tiny tubular flowers, that are grouped together in a central disk and surrounded by colorful petals. This gives the illusion of a sole flower.

Similar to daisies, asters have a star-shaped flower head. Just like the stars in the sky, asters are found abundantly throughout the world as they grow in a wide range of climates from the tropics to cooler regions in the North.

The origin of aster dates back over 4,000 years and has been used to decorate homes and gardens for centuries. Asters are part of the largest family of flowering plant-families, Asteraceae . Approximately 600 species are a part of the aster genus which are native to North America and can be easily spotted throughout the country for their lovely clusters of purple, blue, pink, white, or red petals.

Another interesting aster flower fact is that aster is the common name attributed to this flower throughout the universe. This flower is called aster even in many other languages throughout the world, including Swedish, Spanish, French, and Dutch.

Asters most commonly bloom during the late summer and fall months. In October, when the leaves begin to fall and the sky begins to darken, asters liven the surroundings with their lovely pastel colors.

Asters are very versatile and besides being used in gardens or as fresh cut flowers, in certain countries like Denmark and Holland, they are commonly seen and used to create an eye-catching windowsill decoration. Since they are a smaller flower than a daisy they are the perfect size for many windowsills. They are also ideal for tabletop bouquets or centerpieces, flower arrangements either on their own or as a complement to other festive flowers. Source

More about asters on Wednesday here on my blog.
Mer informasjon om asters.