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Autumn is a great time of year for daisies of all kinds, with rudbekias, echinaceas and asters bringing a vivid splash of colour to our gardens. The asters are looking especially impressive now, with a long-lasting display of blue/mauves, purples, pinks and the occasional white. My favourite is the flower photographed here, Aster x frikartii Mönch (Michaelmas Daisy).
The reason I like this aster so much is because the flowers are bigger than most. They’re larger than the other asters that I’ve seen, and than those already growing in my garden. (You won’t be at all surprised that I love the colour too, given how often I write about blue and purple flowers!) This aster has a long flowering-time and is popular with bees, so it really should be in my garden!
I don’t know why I haven’t grown this aster yet – probably just because I haven’t come across one for sale when I’ve been in the mood for buying plants. I did go out to try to find one in some of our local nurseries recently, but saw only other smaller-flowered cultivars. However, we are soon going to have a visitor to stay and he enjoys visiting garden centres, so I’ll have a good excuse to do a bit more searching…😄
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
So your delayed growing of this flower proved to be the opposite of a dis-aster.
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LOL, Steve…I hope so! (I have still to find one though.)
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My area seems filled with smaller asters, but I’ve seen a couple of larger-flowered purple ones in east Texas, and they sure are beautiful. This is the season for grocery store crysanthemums, and although they have plenty of yellow, white, and burgundy, I’ve yet to see any lavender. The Michaelmas daisies are among my favorites; they combine so well with autumn’s golden flowers.
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I love to see them adding a glow of colour when other flowers are gone or going over. It makes the cold weather of winter feel much further away. I’m going to one of my favourite garden centres today, so I’m hoping I may be able to find ‘Monch’. And there’s a good chance I may come back with some other asters too… 🙂
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These are stunning! Hope you find just the perfect blue Asters for your garden, Ann!
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Thank you! I’m going out to one of the best garden centres today to look for one. (It’s not so close by, so it’s always a special expedition and I always come back with some plants. And I have a newly-cleared space in my garden, so I actually have some room for plants. Usually I buy and think about where to put them afterwards – not sensible, hehe!
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They are lovely, Ann. I share your love for daisies, and for blue and purple flowers.
I also hope your visit to the garden centres will prove productive. 😊
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Thank you Tanja! I did have a look today, but no luck yet. (Of course I did buy a couple of other plants…) Will try again soon! 😁
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I’m sure the garden center staff will be happy to see you again. 🙂
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