In a Vase on Monday: Autumn Stars

October 06, 2025

We had our first frost last week – several nights in a row in fact. Fortunately frost barely affects the garden in autumn as the annuals are all but over – Zinnias got caught and the Cosmos are limping a little! But the grasses and perennials make up for minor damage and I picked a large bunch of asters between the rainshowers yesterday. Most are at their peak now, so it is a good time to share some of them.

They really are the stars of the garden in October, and I have quite a nice mix of colours and heights now, with some interesting seedlings appearing too. Some of them must not be sterile, as I thought they were.

At the front left we have the silvery mauve ‘Silberteppich’ (Silver Carpet?), a short and compact plant with an incredible shimmer to it. This star really does shine brightly. And centre front, a slightly taller blue one I can’t name at the moment – perhaps I will find the label later in the autumn when everything dies back.

The deep pink (left) is Alma Pötschke – Alma is often one of the last ones to open, but is in line with the others this year. The dark purply red one (right) is September Ruby – another tall one that sometimes even starts flowering the end of August/early September. This colour seems unique – I have not come across any other aster this rich red colour – if you have, please let me know! And in the middle is ‘Aschvi’ – pure white with lovely fresh green foliage, growing into nice dense clumps in my Moon Bed at about 60-70 cm tall.

The pale pink ones are ‘Pink Star’. This aster has also set seed in various spots and the seedlings are taller and a little paler than the original, which is about 50-60 cm. The purple one (right) is ‘Purple Dome’. This one is very tall and has set seed in various spots around the garden too.