Where the wild asters bloom

When spring arrives here I notice mauve and purple toning flowers blooming in the most unlikely and inhospitable places.

I live in an area that is very hilly, in places the banks are precipitous and the soil almost non-existent. The rock can be loose and unstable and the clay soils are a challenge to all gardeners.

I have also seen these flowers growing close to the sea and on newly carved hills where new housing developments are about to happen.

Our local newspaper informed me this month that these ultra hardy, strikingly colourful plants are wild Asters, or Michaelmas daisies which bloom in spring.
…..”The New England aster, botanical name Aster novae-angliae, is a hardy wild flower that has been successfully domesticated and makes a stunning display when it grows in the late spring. Sometimes known as the Michaelmas daisy, the New England aster is often in bloom at the Christian feast of St Michael the Archangel, on 29th September, and becomes prolific thereafter.”

It thrives in places such as this

They are early colonizers of these barren areas

Once they have flowered over a short season the seeds are blown in our ever present winds and lie in nooks and crannies awaiting the next spring in which to surprise and delight us.

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Another nectar feeder visits the bottle brush bushes

The bottle brush bushes outside the kitchen window continue to bloom and attract the hungry Tuis.

They are very bossy birds and often chase any other birds out of the bush. However over the past few sunny days I have noticed the small Silvereyes (also known as Waxeyes) are visiting to feast on the nectar.

The Silvereyes dart about snatching a meal when they can and fleeing when a Tui lands to eat in the bush.

Once again the camera has come through for me and captured two photos of these welcome visitors enjoying some nectar.