Gardening in Emsworth.

Answer: when it is a Symphyotrichum.  In recent years many of the plants we knew as asters or Michaelmas daisies have had their names changed as botanists have been examining their DNA and reclassifying them.  They are in full flower at the moment and butterflies and bees are flocking to them.  Here are some of the ones I've got. Symphyotrichum noveo-angliae 'Purple Dome'.  This is a great plant, growing in a dome shape up to 75cm tall and producing masses of 'vivid violet purple' flowers during September and October.  I bought it at Wisley many years ago and split it about three years ago as the dome grew into an amoeba shape.  I've now got four plants all growing in different light conditions.  Shaded ones take longer to come into flower. Symphyotrichum 'Andenken an Alma Potschke' .  At least I think it is - I was given it by a friend who labelled it 'bright pink'.  It's about a metre tall and falls forward a bit.  It's much admired - I

  When the lovely pink flowers of Cyclamen hederafolium appear it's near the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.  As the flowers fade the leaves appear.  They are ivy-shaped, from which the Latin word 'hederafolium' comes:  Hedera = ivy and folium = leaf.  They have beautiful silvery markings on them which vary from plant to plant.  They provide interesting ground cover throughout autumn and winter.  In spring the leaves die back and the corm beneath the soil lies dormant until the following autumn.   I was given a few corms by my father who was fond of cyclamen.  Now they are all over my garden.  The seeds, found in round cases at the end of a coiled stem, are spread by ants who are attracted by their sweet sticky covering and carry them away.   Watch out for Cyclamen coum , the late winter/early spring flowering variety!

Musk mallow ( Malva moschata ) has lovely finely divided leaves growing in an expanding dome in spring.  The pink flowers open in early summer and this year have put on a great show.  Flowers and foliage have a faint musky smell.  It is a short-lived perennial but it self seeds freely. I've just cut off the seed heads to limit the number of plants appearing next year! In the wild it grows on verges and in grassland - something for a wildflower meadow?  Bees like it!

  Allium sphaerocephalum  (Drumsticks) caught my eye recently - the flower heads were covered with bees!  It's a late flowering allium, about 60cm tall with egg shaped flower heads which start green and gradually turn purple.  They are ideal for planting amongst low-growing hardy perennials.  They can be ordered now from bulb suppliers to plant them in autumn and winter.

  This unusual clematis is great for providing a bit of colour and interest to non-flowering shrubs in summer as it clambers over them, flowering freely from June to October. It needs shade at it's base and light above. In winter it dies back, and then starts to grow again in early spring - which is when stems should be pruned to 30cm above the ground.  I have to admit I don't do this and it seems to do no harm.

  I can't remember sowing the seeds but I must have done, about a year ago when foxgloves naturally shed seed after flowering.  I wish I knew the variety - I thought I'd sown Pam's Choice but I'm not sure this is what it should look like!  This one is growing under an apple tree with a shed on the southerly side so it's quite shady. It grew to about 180cm (6 foot) flowered for a few weeks.  I'm hoping it will self seed for a repeat showing next year.