or ASTERS Rose Mead

It is hard to dislike asters, so undemanding, low-maintenance, and pretty. They make good cut flowers and appear in several Persephone novels; Rhoda includes a 'spray of Michaelmas daisies' for her beautiful arrangement in The New House, published in 1936 when asters were at the height of their popularity. These days, asters are cultivated in a lovely array of colours - not just shades of lilac and purple - and Tom Stuart-Smith includes them to great effect in his inspirational prairie gardens.