The Asters Are Starting To Flower

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Bob Bauer
September 26, 2019 (Last Updated: ) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

September 26, 2019

The Asters are starting to flower. What a late bloomer. There is less than a month left before first frost and they are just getting started on pollination. Now I know why they are so covered with insects in October. There aren't any other flowers around..

It makes me want to plant more to help our indigenous pollinators through the winter. I've read that small farmers and gardeners are keeping the bee population from total collapse because large Agra businesses are using toxic insecticides. Feeding the world in an organic sustainable manner is cost prohibitive at this time. It's a process that needs to evolve over time, unless climate change has already doomed us..

September 27, 2019

The snapdragons are giving up the ghost early this year. They look like the party's over, and they're about to stagger home. Droopy and faded like an old photograph, they have decided not to bring in the first frost. Pollinators are still on them so I'm reluctant to pull them up, but I think the pollen is gone and the insects are just arracted to the colors. The tops of the black walnut trees are turning yellow, a harbenger of the colorful Autumn ahead. You don't need to go to Vermont for fall colors..

A walk around your neighborhood will suffice. Our communities have diverse plantings that provide all of the changing colors. The oak leaves have started to fall, free mulch is on the way, and the gophers are making mounds again, after a summer of rest. Spider webs are showing up, decorating for Halloween :), and the winter grass is here to stay..

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