- Photo by Rita Elliott

Asters are superb blooms that come in a wide range of colours (including blue) and sizes: dwarf, medium, tall, very tall. Most have yellow centres. If you enjoy making life difficult for yourself, the China aster is highly recommended. This variety is gorgeous, but difficult to grow and in need of serious coddling. All asters are great as cut flowers and in garden beds. They also make great additions in rock gardens because of their shallow roots.

Another point of interest is that asters, for some reason, repel insects. So my advice would be to plant asters throughout your garden to deter a maximum of critters.

Planting and Aftercare

1. For best-looking cut flowers, wait until the bloom has completely opened before cutting it off.

2. Grow different varieties of aster for continuous blooming period.

3. Plant new seedlings when the already established ones reach 15 centimetres in height, and about 40 centimetres apart.

4. Cover with mulch to protect the shallow roots.

To sum it up, you will need aster seeds/seedlings, compost, trowel and mulch. Lots of water too.