This affordable perennial will fill your pots with flowers in no time – and make them look effortlessly expensive

We've just discovered an easy way to level up our garden pots on a budget: fill them to the brim with Erigeron.

You might have learned how to grow Mexican fleabane, or Erigeron karvinskianus, in garden borders or crevices before, but it's an absolute hit in pots, too. In fact, according to gardening Instagrammer Anya Lautenbach, this plant provides a quick and affordable way to fill pots with a profusion of blooms.

You'll just need a bit of know-how around dividing and planting them up – so I've taken a closer look at Anya's technique.

Erigeron is a brilliant all-rounder. Cath Kidston's patio garden proves that it thrives in the cracks and gaps between pavers, and it does just as well in wall crevices.

It's a fast grower, meaning it's perfect for filling containers with tons of blooms in no time at all.

To start with, you'll need an Erigeron karvinskianus plant, which you can buy from just £4.89 at Crocus. From there, you can begin dividing the plant into smaller sections, which can then be planted up in different pots.

‘You can easily take a clump of erigeron from your existing plant to create more plants for your garden,’ says Anya (@anya_thegarden_fairy) on her Instagram post. ‘Simply pull an outer section of the plant and place it in some water for the plant to hydrate.'

Once you've done that, you simply need to plant the section up in another pot.

'The plants I have divided will quickly grow and flower within a few weeks, giving me more plants for the garden,' says Anya. 'This is how I create my pots of joy for free.’

The result? Pots filled to the brim with daisy flowers. They'll spill over the edges to create wild, abundant displays.

This is just one of Anya's many budget garden ideas that look far more expensive than they actually are. She talks about other ways you can create your dream garden at a fraction of the cost in her book The Money-Saving Gardener, which is currently on sale for £13.45 at Amazon.

Gardening expert and author Sarah Raven is also a fan of Erigeron, and she thinks it's a brilliant long-flowering perennial for pots, too.

'Erigeron is an excellent choice for pots,' she says 'Use it as a pot topper or plant alone as a tumbling table centre for outdoor tables. They also act as a spiller plant that trails over the edges of pots and containers, giving a softer look to your displays.'

Sarah shared a few additional tips for dividing Erigeron into new plants.

'Use a fork to lift a large, healthy clump, then tease apart the root ball to form smaller clumps,' she advises. 'Ensure each clump has its own roots and shoots – I like to use a Hori-Hori for this.'

Spear & Jackson's Razorsharp Hori Hori Multi-Tool from Amazon is ideal.

'Plant your new clumps with a little bit of grit for drainage and water in well,' Sarah continues. 'To get even more out of Erigeron in your garden, leave any gone-over flowers to go to seed.'

Add to basket

And that's that! Erigeron is a fast-growing, long-flowering perennial that can be divided and spread amongst your garden pots to fill them with daisy-like blooms in no time. They're a staple cottage garden plant, but they can make any garden container look more expensive.