The flowers are spectacular, and we wish our photo did them better justice. They are white-petaled (sometimes blushing to faint pink) with a large, bright center that is lavender to deep red. The first flowers of the season stand out briliantly against the black foliage, but within a week or so there are so many blooms that the leaves can scarcely be seen! A happy 'Lady in Black' will bloom from late summer well into fall, delighting the butterflies and keeping every available vase and buttonhole beautifully filled! One look at these blooms and you can see how this perennial earned the folk name of Calico Aster -- they really do resemble the hundreds of small, neat, bright blooms printed on old-fashioned cotton cloth.

But believe it or not, the foliage rivals the flowers for beauty and drama. Unfurling on bright purple stems, it is a rich ebony-black, turning to charcoal-violet in the hottest weather but then burnishing midnight-dark again in autumn. Since the blooms don't begin opening until the end of summer (or sometimes early fall), the leaves carry this plant through spring and summer splendidly, setting 'Lady in Black' apart from all others in the sunny border.

Native to North America (from Canada through the most of the western United States), this Aster reaches 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It will branch much more tightly and bloom its head off if you can bring yourself to cut it back in early summer, all the way to about 6 inches high. This is hard for some of us to do, especially when the foliage is so lovely, but the results are pretty exciting! And at times it can lean beneath the weight of its bushels of blooms, so you might want to stake it ahead of time and let the foliage grow up and hide the supports before the flowers start appearing!

'Lady in Black' loves sun, and doesn't mind periods of drought once it has settled into your garden. Pamper it the first season or two, then let it go. It will flourish even in heavy clay, its flowers appearing in giant nosegays that you can cut with a single snip as ready-made arrangements for the breakfast table or desk. Absolutely breathtaking in a large planting, even a small group of this Aster will transform the border from ordinary to jaw-dropping.

'Lady in Black' is sister to the fabulous Aster 'Prince', with superb vigor and resistance to most pests and diseases. It grows tall and broad enough to serve as a low hedge, and is an agreeable companion to all the green- and gold-leaved plants in the border. Let it become the perennial star of your autumn garden ? and extend the cutflower season by many weeks! -- by finding the perfect spot for it in your garden this season. Zones 3-8.