North American asters ranked as the premier native plant introduced into Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. British patron Peter Collinson wrote to Philadelphia plant collector and nurseryman John Bartram, “…your country in inexhaustible in asters,” and Jean Skipwith included “asters of various kinds” in her southern Virginia garden at Prestwould during the late 1700s. New England Aster was included on the 1806 list of Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon and in the 1818 catalogue of the William Prince Nursery on Long Island, NY.  This hardy, North American perennial produces lavender to deep purple, daisy-like flowers from late summer to early fall.

Visit Monticello’s Online Shop to check for seeds or plants of New England Aster.