After several frosts and a snow shower, winter does not feel very far away. Nevertheless, there is one plant in the garden that has just started blooming. With its leaves tinged red, it had appeared to be shutting down as the weather turned colder. However, this little plant is now covered in bright purple and yellow inflorescences.
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| Flowers of the late-blooming aster. |
I have been curious whether anything will come to pollinate these aster flowers, since the cold and wet create considerable difficulties for flying insects. During brief periods in which the sun has come out, I have checked the flowers for visitors. However, some of the flowers still needed more time to dry off after the rain.
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| A water droplet trapped in the aster inflorescence. |
Even when dry, the flowers haven't seemed very successful in attracting pollinators. I only found one insect visiting the flowers, and it was a bug that may have been doing more harm than good for the plant.
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| A bug in the aster flower. |
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