Aster Postage Stamps | Fall Garden Flowers | Garden Flowers Series | Vintage Unused USPS Postage 32c

Add floral flair to your letters with these stunning vintage unused Garden Flowers series "Fall Garden Flowers: Aster" postage stamps! This classic botanical design is perfect for adding a touch of nature’s beauty to your save-the-dates, wedding invitations, thank you cards, shower invites, birth announcements, and other snail mail correspondence. In pristine mint condition and valid for current postage use, each stamp holds a face value of 32-cents. These authentic USPS postage stamps are suitable for current mailing when used with the total required postage based on the weight of your mailing. Deliver floral elegance with this exquisite vintage postage stamp!

STAMP INFORMATION:

• Name: Fall Garden Flowers: Aster
• Series: Garden Flowers
• Year Issued: 1995
• Face Value: 32-cents (USD) per stamp
• Topic(s): Flowers, Floral, Botanical, Fragrant, Gardening, Fall, Autumn, Nature
• Color(s): Pink, Red, Green, Multicolored
• Mailing Occasions: Wedding Invitations, Save the Date Announcements, Shower Invitations, Birth Announcements, Thank You Cards, Valentine’s Day, Snail Mail, and more…
• Printing Method: Lithographed and engraved
• Scott Number: 2993
• Adhesion Type: Gummed
• Condition: Genuine Unused USPS Postage Stamps, Ready to Use for USPS Mailings, Mint Condition

STAMP DESCRIPTION & HISTORY: Released on September 19, 1995, in Encinitas, California, the 32-cent "Fall Garden Flowers: Aster" postage stamp is part of the USPS Garden Flowers series, a beloved botanical program highlighting familiar ornamental blooms found in American gardens throughout the seasons. T his stamp belongs to the Fall Garden Flowers subset of the Garden Flowers series. The series was created to showcase popular seasonal flowers that thrive in home landscapes, emphasizing both their visual appeal and their role in marking the rhythms of the year. Asters—often among the last flowers to bloom before frost—were chosen to represent late-season endurance and the gentle beauty that accompanies seasonal change.

Stamp designer Ethel Kessler’s clean, balanced composition allows the floral subject to stand front and center, while botanical artist Thomas R. Hipschen’s illustration captures the aster’s delicate form with precision and warmth. The stamp features a cluster of aster blossoms, characterized by slender, radiating petals surrounding bright central disks. The flowers are rendered in soft lavender and violet hues, accented by golden-yellow centers that add contrast and visual energy. Fine linework and subtle shading give the petals a light, airy quality, while the understated background keeps attention on the blooms themselves. The overall composition feels gentle yet uplifting—evoking cool autumn light and the quiet persistence of fall gardens.

FLOWER INFORMATION: Aster in Greek means “star”. Asters are in the daisy family and are notable for their starburst arrangement of bright petals, which most often surround a yellow center. The flowers are small but numerous, giving the plants the look of being “nothing but color” when in full bloom.

Asters have a fascinating history. They are also known as the Michaelmas daisy for their tendency to bloom around the autumn equinox, which coincides with the feast of St, Michael. The leaves and roots were used medicinally by Native Americans. Legend has it that the Greek god Virgo sowed them from stardust. Another legend says they sprang from the tears of the goddess Asterea, who grieved upon seeing a devastated Earth after the great Flood. Also known as “starwort” and “eye of Christ,” asters were long believed to have magical powers. In ancient Greece, wreaths of asters adorned the altars of all the gods. Down through the centuries, some people burned aster leaves to keep away evil spirits, while others ground aster roots to cure sickly bees and the bite of mad dogs. Today, gardeners mostly grow asters for their beautiful fall flowers and to provide late-season food for pollinators.

STAMP MEANING & SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: Asters bloom late in the season, often when the garden is thinning, making them enduring symbols of light that persists even as conditions grow cooler and more uncertain. Spiritually, the aster’s star-like form—from which its name is derived—has long been associated with guidance, protection, and trust in unseen order. The radiating petals surrounding a bright central disk suggest alignment between inner truth and outward expression, a reminder to remain centered while offering kindness and clarity to the world.

STAMP SERIES HISTORY: Part of the Garden Flowers series, the Fall Garden Flowers postage stamps were released on September 19, 1995 at the Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, California. The selected fall blooms were the aster, chrysanthemum, dahlia, hydrangea, and the rudbeckia. The Garden Flowers series is a long-running floral theme issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS), created to celebrate the beauty, familiarity, and emotional resonance of flowers commonly found in American gardens. Spanning multiple issues and denominations from the late 20th century into the early 21st century, the series reflects USPS’s enduring commitment to botanical art as a bridge between fine design and everyday life. The Garden Flowers series emerged from USPS’s broader effort to feature accessible, nature-based subjects that would appeal to a wide audience. Rather than spotlighting rare or exotic blooms, the series focuses on beloved garden staples—flowers people recognize from backyards, bouquets, and seasonal displays.

GUMMED STAMPS: These postage stamps have a traditional moisture-activated gum on the back. These stamps require licking or wetting to adhere to envelopes or other surfaces. To ensure good adhesion, apply vintage gummed stamps to your mailings with a glue stick (we recommend using Elmer's "Re-Stick" glue sticks).

GENUINE USPS POSTAGE: These unused vintage postage stamps are perfectly valid for use as current postage for mailing with USPS as long as you use the adequate amount of additional postage to achieve standard postage rates according to the weight of your mailing. Check current postage rates at USPS.com.

QUESTIONS? We love hearing from our customers and replies to inquires are usually answered the same day. Need more of this stamp? Looking for a particular stamp not found on our website? Want a curated postage set for your special event?  Contact us with questions about vintage postage stamps and our services… 

TELL YOUR STORY IN STAMPS: We’ve worked with hundreds of couples and their stationers to custom design highly stylized personalized postage sets based on our customer’s life stories. We can help you curate personalized vintage postage sets to commemorate your save-the-date, wedding, shower, announcement, and other special occasions in a truly unique fashion. Drawing on our encyclopedic knowledge of every stamp ever issued by the USPS, and sourcing from our extensive inventory of collectable unused vintage stamps, we’ll help you tell your unique story in stamps!

ABOUT HERITAGE POST HOUSE: Jennifer Kramer is the founder of Heritage Post House, a boutique vintage postage house located in Northern California. Jennifer sources the most beautiful unused vintage postage stamps ever issued by USPS and artfully arranges them into curated postage sets that are sure to add a special touch to your invitations, announcements, and special mailings. In addition to creating pre-arranged postage sets, Jennifer also works with couples (and their stationers) to create one-of-a-kind custom postage arrangements for wedding invitations, save the dates, and other special occasions.

SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW QUANTITY BASED PRICING