Symphyotrichum oblongifolium Edible at a doorstep

at a doorstep

a rare gift among magnolias

Site the shrub at a woodland edge or in a native border where the pastel trusses can be met at close range

The aromatic foliage is passed over by deer

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium Edible at a doorstepSymphyotrichum oblongifolium, the aromatic aster, saves the best of the season for last. Long after most perennials have folded, this tough native throws up a low, spreading mound of stiff, well branched stems and buries the whole clump under small violet blue daisies, each lit with a bright gold eye, from early fall well into November. The show arrives just as the garden goes quiet, and the flowers hum with the last bees and butterflies of the year.