Blue??? That's about as purple as it gets! To add your zone, change your member profile rather than the individual post.

chazparas, I'll throw in an extra .00001% I am positive now this is an Aster. I would of never put this together myself, I have always thought that every Aster had a daisy like flower Another sort through my seed packets and I have planted Aster azureus, Aster shortii and Plains Aster (which is an annual) So now its just waiting until next year to see what happens and it is entirely possible that I have planted New York Aster which this most closely resembles but I haven't found the seed packet. I don't know how I got mixed up with the tall and short of the plants but what has happened is I got an ID 2 for 1. Over the past year I have tried to photograph and identify every plant that has bloomed in my yard, be it a native, a weed, pretty ugly whatever, I have also tried to figure out how and why it has arrived in my yard. If I have another question I know where to come and I am sure I will get another lesson, so thank you to everyone for your help. When I get everything online I will share.

Quote: "Shepherd's-purse is a winter annual broadleaf weed, but may grow all year in cool coastal areas of California. It is common throughout California to about 7600 feet (2300 m). It inhabits agricultural land and other disturbed areas. Its fruit has a peppery flavor and is sometimes added as a spice to salad greens. However, shepherd’s-purse seeds and leaves contain compounds called glucosinolates, which cause digestive irritation when consumed in quantity." Might use it sparingly then.

LOL!! I have been checking almost daily since I last posted that there was no sign of it. And we have had some reasonable pleasant spring-like weather recently, which I'm sure hasn't hurt. The good thing about the daily examination is that I have been able to enjoy my magnificent red trillium nearby, currently in full bloom. And some early epimedium flowers in the same area. This is a brand new planting bed, only going into its first real spring so everything is still pretty small. Except for the trillium which is a mature clump and quite massive, considering it has been moved 4 times since its original planting and is still in a container :-( Trillium chloropetalum var. giganteum 'Volcano'