September’s birth flowers are aster and morning glory. While both are beautiful flowers, I’d love to spend some time exploring the world of the aster flower with you. They are a fantastic filler flower for beautiful bouquets and come in a variety of colours. These qualities make them a wonderful flower to get to know a little better.
Native plants
There are several varieties of asters that are native to this area. And while everything else is reaching the end of it’s time, some varieties are still blooming in September. You can also sow them directly into the ground in late fall, and they will bloom in the spring – they love germinating in the cold.
Symbolism
The aster flower gets its name from the Greek word for star, due to their star-like appearance. They represent love, wisdom, affection, faith, and innocence. If you know someone born in September, a bouquet with aster flowers is said to bring good luck to the recipient. It is also used to mark the passing of a loved one.
There is plenty of ancient lore around asters. One of the best is the myth that asters are the tears of Virgo, the goddess of innocence, crying over earth’s sins.
Family “Tree”
Given the shape, you might think that the aster is related to the daisy. But it is a member of the sunflower family. Though there are over 600 species of aster, there are two main types seen in North America: New York and New England.
Aster is a wonderful flower to enjoy in a flower arrangement at any time of the year. But, given their significance in the month of September, I think it’s a great time to play with the aster flower and see what we can create together.