Aster frikartii Wunder von Stafa
Having spent the day recording the new RHS Symphyotrichum trial at Old Court Nurseries I thought it would be appropriate to focus on ‘Asters’ in this month’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day post. Above is one of my real favourites, Aster x frikartii ‘Wunder von Stafa’. I love the large daisy like flowers, it has a nice open habit and being of short-medium height works well in the border.
Symphyotricum ‘Les Moutiers’
Symphyotrichum ‘Les Moutiers’ is another one which I have been admiring for the last few weeks. It has strong stems so needs little supporting and the flowers are more pink that it seems in the photograph. It has a very elegant habit and a nice height of 4-5ft (difficult to tell on my slope) and is clumping up well.
Symphyotrichum ‘Ochtendgloren’
Another aster whose photo doesn’t really show its color properly is Symphyotrichum ‘Ochtendgloren’. In reality it is a much pinker purple. A medium height plant so good in front of taller grasses such as Calamagrostis ‘Overdam’. I am hoping my plant will clump up well as it is such a pretty color and bounces well off the nearby Cotinus.
Aster trifoliatus subsp. ageratoides ‘Stardust’
On a much shorter scale is Aster trifoliatus subsp. ageratoides ‘Stardust’. I don’t think it is as pretty as the others but it doesn’t mind a bit of shade which makes it a good doer for brightening up woodland planting at this time of year.
Aster novae-angliae ‘St Michael’s’
Finally we have Aster novae-angliae ‘St Michael’s’. I have to confess that I bought this some years ago as it is named for a local hospice charity, as opposed to the well-known department store, and some of the price went to the charity. However, it has really been attention grabbing for the last few weeks with its big bluey-purple flowers and interestingly was one of the varieties that we identified today as one to really watch through the trial. Mine has found it way through various plant moves to the woodland border and is surprisingly looking very good.
So those are my October blooms, for other bloggers’ blooms pop over to May Dreams and check out the comments box.