Aster la vista! I’ve found a new favourite plant

MOST of us who enjoy our gardens like to keep the show going for as long as possible, but I’ve always been lukewarm about asters.

They flower when most other perennials have given up the ghost, but their washed-out shades leave me cold and they’re susceptible to mildew.

Now, though, I’ve found an aster that’s changed my mind.

Symphyotrichum novaeangliae ‘Andenken an Alma Potschke’ is hardly a catchy name, but get your tongue around it and you’ll be rewarded by vibrant, cerisepink flowers that make a vivid splash just as the season is going over.

It’s a strong grower, producing lots of sprays that reach 90cm in height and it grows better when divided every couple of years, so start off with just a few and very soon you’ll have enough to create whole swathes of autumn colour.

It’s even resistant to powdery mildew, which is another reason for growing it.

Other good doers for this time of the year are Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ and Sedum ‘Ruby Glow’, which have flowers and foliage infused with rich, red tones, and it’s worth finding a place for nerines.

Closer to the ground colchicums and autumn crocuses are coming into flower.

These may look similar but they are actually different plants and if you’ve got a very sunny spot then you might want to try growing Crocus sativus, the stamens of which are the source of the dark yellow spice, saffron.

This may be the most expensive spice in the world, but don’t imagine you can grow enough to strike gold – in our climate you’d do well to harvest enough for a single risotto.

But the purple flowers are lovely and that’s a good enough reason to nurture them.

If you are lucky, then your garden will be full of lovely seedheads, all looking radiant in the golden light of autumn.

We are often told to keep these ghosts of summer standing throughout the winter to provide cover for insects.

Too often though the stems turn to mush in heavy rain and harbour nothing more than slugs, so be selective and don’t feel bad about putting anything black and unsightly on the compost heap.

The bugs can make use of it just as well there.

This year I’ve created a cosy habitat out of leaves and twigs for the hedgehog that passes through the garden.

It may turn up its snout at it and go in search of a better establishment, but perhaps it will linger and curl itself into a ball for the winter.

We don’t have either a cat or a dog and the wild foxes that prowl the woodland tend to stay on the other side of the fence, so our garden is a safe bet although there is always the threat that a snoozing hedgehog will be shaken out of hibernation by a stray football.