or autumn ox-eye daisy
We may be half way through October, yet there are still so many plants looking picture perfect at the moment and the autumn ox-eye daisy is most definitely a main player. The fresh-as-a-daisy, pristine white flowers are such a cheery sight, up to 8cm across with yellowish green centres, they are uncomplicated and loved by pollinators.
This is an upright, very hardy perennial that can attain 1.5-1.8m in height, so if this sounds daunting then it’s definitely worth experimenting with the Chelsea chop; it’s strong growing and clump forming, and happily, the tall stems are pretty much self-supporting even if left unpruned.
Leucanthemella serotina is a top autumn favourite of mine; it grows in sun or part shade and is perfect for picking. Best towards the back or middle of the border, it looks great with mid to taller growing grasses and I would look no further than Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’. There are a plethora of other suitable companions but they do all need to be able to hold their own. I would single out the following in particular: Solidago ‘Firecracker’, Rudbeckia ‘Henry Eilers’ and Verbena macdougalii ‘Lavender Spires’; there are more asters than I could mention here but Symphyotrichum ‘Monte Cassino’ is one of the best. All of these are great for flower arrangers.
