Bursting With Joy
by Connie Handscomb
Title
Bursting With Joy
Artist
Connie Handscomb
Medium
Photograph - Photography - Fine Art
Description
Blessed are the joymakers.
~ Nathaniel Parker Willis
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Aster
Callistephus chinesis
Every aster in my hand
Goes home loaded with a thought.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Aster is Latin, Greek and English for 'star', so named with reference to the floral shape of the flower heads.
While we find asters blooming freely here on the Pacific Coast from late summer through autumn in meadows and along riverbanks, in wet forests and clearings, they originate from China, Siberia and Japan.
The ancient Greeks considered the aster to be sacred, and magical, and modern folklore portends that hanging boughs of dried asters in the home protects it.
In Chinese medicine, the aster is used to treat hemorrhages, malaria, and pulmonary ailments.
The English called them 'michaelmas daisies ' because their blooms come during the feast of Saint Michael (Sept 29th), and can bloom right through to Christmas.
The colours range from pink, lilac and deep purple.
Sources:
Four Chefs, One Garden : Seasons Of West Coast Living [Roy]
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Magical Plants [S.Gregg]
Plants Of Coastal British Columbia, incl Washington, Oregon & Alaska [Pojar;MacKinnon]
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The warm summer season may be coming to a close, but this happy aster is not troubled with the prospect of the upcoming winter's seasonal rains at all.
Captured in natural light; unedited; uncropped ... nature in all its splendour.
* -------------------------- *
♥ Heartfelt Gratitude to FAA groups for featuring this image
Global Flowers Photography
The Niche
10 Plus
Uploaded
November 12th, 2016
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