Aster ‘Lady in Black’

* Common name: Aster ‘Lady in Black’

* Botanical name: Aster laterifolius ‘Lady in Black’

* What it is: A sun-loving perennial with pinkish-white flower clusters in late summer and dark burgundy leaves all season. Drought-tough and heat-tolerant, too.

* Size: 2 feet tall. Space 2 to 2½ feet apart.

* Where to use: Perennial borders, cut-flower gardens, any sunny bed or bank. Full sun for best bloom.

* Care: Keep damp the first season, then water usually not needed. Scatter balanced organic granular fertilizer such as Flower-tone or Plant-tone over the bed in early spring. Snip off flowers after they brown if you’re neat. Otherwise, cut whole plant to the ground at the end of winter. Can be dug and divided then, too, into fist-sized pieces for transplanting.

* Great partner: Red switchgrass or fountaingrass ‘Karley Rose.’