Spring is the time most of us think about for dazzling wildflowers, but there are actually quite a few fall beauties, too. One of them is the false aster or boltonia. It grows on a bush that tends to get 2-3 feet tall and is kind of rounded. They are most common in the northern Mississippi valley area, but they can spread south into Texas and as far east as Florida. They are a very attractive white flower with a yellow center, and they like moist, well drained soil with direct sun light. That really makes them ideal for our region.

The false aster is used by a lot of people in gardens for it’s beautiful flowers, and for the butterflies and small pollinators that they attract. Here in central Florida there are also quite a few of them that grow wild. On the back of my property and in the state forest land behind us, we have a bunch of them. I discovered these not too long ago on one of my nature walks. Since photographing these, I have also noticed several patches of them blooming on roadsides and in pastures. We are about to have our first frost of the year (yes, we do get frost in central Florida!) and that will probably spell the end of our boltonia flowers, but I’m sure they will be back again next fall to keep reminding us that not all impressive wildflowers bloom in the spring.

After I shot these flowers, I decided to have a little fun, and play with the color. The pink, turquoise, and green were my favorites. What do you think?