Asters can add much-need colour to drab autumn gardens

As the weather begins to turn many UK gardens could end up devoid of the vivid colours that characterise the sunshine months.

But according to the Daily Mail, people who are hoping to give their gardens a late-summer kick start need look no further than asters.

The newspaper suggested that the flowers will easily transform a drab and dreary yard into an autumn paradise from which to watch the leaves fall.

Asters, known also as Michaelmas daisies, usually last well into November and can add volume to the thinning autumn foliage thanks to their dense, shrub-like properties.

There are now hundreds of species of the plant in colours ranging from subtle whites and pinks to full-bodied reds and deep shades of purple, thanks in part to cross-breeding of wild species that has occurred in North America, it claimed.

Recently, the Daily Mail reported that a Suffolk gardener has caused a stir by growing a chrysanthemum that has both pink and yellow petals.

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