All About Magazine - Issue 12

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Desirable daisies
by Martin Blow -
For the lawn-proud garden owner daisies are weeds
to be fought with and removed at all costs. For the
flower gardener the daisy family are one of the glories
of summer and the most desirable flowering plants.
From low growing carpeters to 8ft giants for the back
of the border there is a daisy for every garden.
Technically daisies are members of the Aster (or
Michaelmas daisy) family and all have a rayed petals
and a disc or cone at the centre and all share the
same attractiveness to bees and butterflies
Let’s startwithAsters, those latebloomers that come in
a range of colours from white, through pink, lavender
to the dark purple. The best of these is the variety
“Mônch”, which blooms from August and never gets
mildew. I also love the tall growing “Calliope”who has
black stems, glossy leaves and flowers in October and
November. Aster need a reasonably sunny spot and
soil that holds some moisture - so mulch them well
in spring.
For brighter colours you can’t do better than
Heleniums – one of my passions. These are certainly
sun lovers and come in shades of red, orange and
yellow. Perhaps best known as tall plants for the back
of the border blooming in August and September
there are also some new, shorter ones that start
flowering in late June: “Red Army” is bright red and
2ft (60cm) tall and “Mardi Gras” is a similar height with
flowers that blend red, orange and yellow. “Sahin’s
Early Flowerer”has similar flowers but is nearly 3ft tall.
“El Dorado” is one of the best new varieties with large
golden yellow flowers. He is about 2ft 6in tall (75cm)
but doesn’t need staking. “Flaming Katy” is taller and
a fiery orange-red.
We all loved growing annual sunflowers as kids and
there are some less tall perennial types to choose
for the garden. Their flowers are smaller but very
numerous. “Happy Days” is only 3ft (90cm) tall with
large flowers whereas “Lemon Queen” will get to 6ft
(180cm) tall and has masses of pale yellow flowers
in autumn. Some are scented – the variety “Bitter
Chocolate” smells exactly like that!
Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum) were once common
cottage garden plants and they are making a
comeback as gardeners remember just how easy
and reliable they are. Most are white although there
are a few pale yellow varieties to be had. My favourite
is “Beauté Nivelloise” which one cheeky customer
renamed “bad hair day” after the wayward look of the
petals. “Fiona Coghill” has large, ball-shaped flowers
that remind me of a florist’s Chrysanthemum. Shasta
Daisies love a well-drained sunny spot and will
survive drought well.
We are used to buying African Daisies
(Osteospermum) as half-harder summer bedding but
there are a few winter hardy ones to find. The white
“Lady Leitrim” has been in my family’s gardens for at
least four generations and always survives even the
hardest winter provided the soil is well-drained. She
will flower from May to early winter.
You can meet Martin at plant hunters’ fairs, the next
being on 13th September at Weston Park TF11 8LE
where entry to the fair and garden is just £2.50. Full
details from
One of the best new varieties, El Dorado (top) and the winter
hardy, white Lady Leitrim (bottom)
ALL ABOUT MAGAZINE | FEATURE 51