White Aster

Symphyotrichum ericoides var. ericoides

February 2009. I was greeted by this flower last fall, nearly five years after living in our house. I had never noticed it before, but this year was full of surprises, in the middle of a drought no less.

A whole ribbon of these appeared on a very shady fenceline near our dog run. Not the prettiest place in the world, but where better to surprise me with Texas wildflowers? I absolutely adore daisies, and so one can imagine I was delighted to have some effortless ones suddenly appear. This perennial autumn-blooming Aster is sometimes called White Aster, Heath Aster or White Prairie Aster. It has somewhat ragged looking long stalks that are covered from top to bottom with tiny yellow-and-white daisies. It bloomed here from November into a wee bit of December.

According the Wildflower Center, it grows along dry roadsides and prairies. I wouldn’t say it is the neatest-looking flower, but delicate enough for a mass planting in an area I don’t have time much time for. (More on White Aster at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center.)

And this photo has the distinction of being my first-ever with a macro lens. Small subjects like these are so perfect for macro-photography, when my natural sight can’t see much detail: