Symphyotrichum oblongifolium — Aromatic Aster

Light: Full Sun | Moisture: Dry to Medium-Dry, tolerates average soil if well-drained

One of the last natives to bloom each year, with purple daisy-like flowers that persist from late summer all the way until the first hard frost, exactly when migrating monarchs are moving south and need reliable nectar the most. Crushed foliage gives off a distinctive balsam-like fragrance, and its tough, dry-adapted growth makes it more deer and rabbit resistant than many other asters. Native bees often nest in its hollow dead stems over winter, so it's worth leaving the cut stems standing rather than tidying them away in fall.