Asters are late summer and fall blooming flowers that provide important food sources for butterflies, most notably migrating Monarchs. New England Asters add a bit of purple to the fall landscape, in contrast to the usual reds and golds. It also makes a nice counterpoint to goldenrod. At Anderson Prairie, as in other locations, asters can be found along roadsides or other places disturbed by machinery or grazing at one time or another.

Some of these flowers were photographed along Chestnut Street, and were visible from the road. Anderson Prairie contains six species of asters, including these not pictured: Heart-leafed aster (aster cordifolius) and Smooth Aster (Aster laevis). For the prairie gardener, asters provide color long after your neighbor has given up on his or her perennial garden for the year. New England asters can be found at nurseries, but check the tag for the scientific name (Aster novae-angliae) to be sure.