An ode to Claude Barr

Aster 'Dream of Beauty' Aster fendleri, and Zauchneria californica make a somewhat pleasing if unorthodox color combination. Aster 'Dream of Beauty' was a cultivar selected by the great plantsman Claude Barr. His book Jewels of The Plains was probably the first major piece of literature celebrating the many ornamental plants native to the foothills of the Rockies and the short grass plains which stretch from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Texas. He sent seed and plants not only across the United States but much of the world. His book is still timeless over 30 years after it finally went into print. People of the Great Plains and Intermountain West owe him so much.