Vibrant flowers and shrubs in hues of gold, orange and red for a hot-coloured border to wow throughout the summer and early autumn
List Curated by Thomas McBride From research data collected and collated at the National Botanic Garden of Wales
NB: Butterflies and Moths are not studied at the NBGW so any data on nectar plants beneficial for them is taken from Butterfly Conservation Photo (CC) Jonathan Buckley Creating a Hot Border Hot Borders are a great way to create an eye-catching section in your garden over the summer and into the autumn. Typically, they consist of mostly perennials with a few annuals and shrubs or, sometimes, climbers towards the back if the border backs onto a wall or hedge. This list seeks to provide an overview of some of the most vibrant gold, orange and red flowers commonly grown in gardens that are beneficial for our pollinating insects. Included in this list are also a few purple-leaved cultivars which can add to the colour even when they are not flowering. It is a good idea to repeat-plant in a hot border with clumps of specific species repeating several times to create a coherent scheme. Choosing Plants In amongst repeating clumps of perennials such as Hemerocallis or Crocosmia, why not try adding in a few taller plants to create focal points. Tiger lilies, Giant yellow knapweed or Mexican torchflowers can add a pop of the unusual within a patterned planting scheme. Climbers such as nasturtiums or Campsis can work well in a border that backs onto a wall or larger shrubs such as Cotinus or Leucadendron may work better if the back of the border is less well-defined. Map Maps depict the native area of the plant (in green) Guide to using these pages: They also show areas the plant is naturalised (in purple)
Latin Binomial All maps shown Name are derived from ‘Plants of the Common World Online’; English courtesy of Kew Name Gardens
Flowering Period Photograph (this is when it is good of the plant for pollinators!) in flower
Plant Family
Insect groups known to Growing habit favour the and mature size nectar of this of the plant plant
Useful knowledge or warnings about the plant RHS AGM cultivars of this species (or a related species occasionally) i Key to these Pages Warnings
Additional information on these garden plants
This plant would The flowers only be suitable for and/or leaves meadow-style have a Pleasant Plant tissue is highly planting scent toxic if ingested
The plant has edible parts that are Sap may cause irritation Plant is often used in commonly eaten or (Wash hands after touching traditional Herbal Remedies used in cooking or avoid touching)
ii Temperature RHS Hardiness Scale
Some of the plants listed in our Top 200 are not fully H1a - Above 15ºC hardy in all or some parts of the United Kingdom. H1b - Minimum 10ºC Plants without a thermometer symbol are fully hardy in the severest UK Winter; equating to H5 or hardier. H1c - Minimum 5ºC Plants with a coloured thermometer symbol are hardy to varying degrees as follows: H2 - Minimum 1ºC
H3 - Minimum -5ºC
H4 - Minimum -10ºC
H5 - Minimum -15ºC Almost Hardy Half-Hardy Not Frost Hardy Not Hardy (H4) (H3) (H2) (H1) iii Pollinators Our data on pollinators has been collected from studies spanning over a decade. Pollinator symbols appear when plants are proven to be good nectar (a) (b) plants for certain insects. It should be noted that all bee and hoverfly data is ours but lepidoptera data is taken from Butterfly Conservation.
Our data spans a wide range of different insect species. For simplicity, these species have been condensed into six easy icons to represent them: (c) (d) a) Honeybees c) Bumblebees e) Moths b) Hoverflies d) Butterflies f) Solitary Bees (Includes Moths)
(e) (f) iv N. America & Achillea millefolium Eurasia Common Yarrow
‘Red Velvet’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Lansdorferglut’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
2ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Nayuki Im 1 Alstroemeria x hybrida S. America Garden Peruvian-lily Complex group of hybrids of unknown parentage
Alstroemeria genus
‘Orange Glory’ Late Summer - Mid Autumn ‘Spitfire’ ‘Red Elf’
Alstroemeriaceae Peruvian-lily Family
3ft Tuberous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Glen Bowman 2 Alstroemeria aurea Orange Peruvian-lily
S. America
‘Orange King’ Summer . (Not AGM)
Alstroemeriaceae Peruvian-lily Family
3ft Tuberous
* This plant will not survive below -10’c night Photograph from Flickr (CC) Jon Sullivan temperatures, protect from very harsh winter3 nights Antirrhinum majus Mediterranean Common Snapdragon
‘Deep Bronze’ Early Summer - Early Autumn ‘Liberty Classic’
Plantaginaceae Plantain Family
2ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Rob Bertholf 4 Aquilegia formosa N. America Western Red Columbine
- Species - Mid Spring - Midsummer
Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Peter Stevens 5 Berberis thunbergii Japanese Barberry
Japan
f. atropurpurea Spring . ‘Fireball’
Berberidaceae Barberry Family
Medium Shrub
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Rafael V. 6 Campsis radicans Trumpet Vine
N. America
f. flava Summer .
Bignoniaceae Trumpet Vine Family
10ft+ Climber
* This plant will not survive below -10’c night temperatures, protect from very harsh winter nights Photograph from Flickr (CC) Harald Henkel 7 Carthamus tinctorius Caucasus Safflower
None Summer .
Asteraceae Daisy Family
2ft Annual
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Marcus Winter 8 Centaurea macrocephala Caucasus Giant Yellow Knapweed
None Summer .
Asteraceae Daisy Family
5ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Alwyn Ladell 9 Coreopsis tinctoria N. America Dyer’s Tickseed
‘Yellow and Red’ Midsummer - Mid Autumn
Asteraceae Daisy Family
3ft Annual
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Natalie J 10 Cosmos sulphereus C.Mexico America Yellow Mexican Daisy
‘Brightness Red’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Tango’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
4ft Annual
* This plant, if sown early, should be sown inside Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Ramesh NG during winter (cannot survive below -5’c night temperatures)11 Cotinus coggygria Eurasia Smoke Bush
‘Ancot’ ‘Young Lady’ Summer . ‘Royal Purple’
Anacardiaceae Cashew Family
Large Shrub
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat 12 Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora Montbretia Crocosmia aurea x Crocosmia pottsii – naturally occurring hybrid
South Africa
‘Star of the East’ Summer . ‘Lucifer’
Iridaceae Iris Family
4ft Cormous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gabrielle Ludlow 13 Dahlia coccinea C. America Red Dahlia
‘Bishop of Llandaff’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Happy Single series’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
3ft Tuberous Perennial
* Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy, bring Photograph from Flickr (CC) Chipmunk_1 tubers indoors in winter to rest before planting14 in Spring N. America & Dasiphora fruticosa Eurasia Garden Potentilla
‘Hopleys Orange’ Early Summer - Early Autumn ‘Marian Red Robin’
Rosaceae Rose Family
Medium Shrub
Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Réginald Hulhoven 15 Digitalis x valinii Europe Illumination Foxglove Digitalis purpurea x Digitalis canariensis (syn. Isoplexis caneriensis) Macaronesia
Digitalis canariensis
Digitalis purpurea
‘Illumination’ Summer .
‘Firebird’ (Not AGM)
Plantaginaceae Plantain Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Fitz Clarke 16 Eschscholzia californica N. America Californian Poppy
‘Dali’ Summer . ‘Fire Bush’
Papaveraceae Poppy Family
2ft Annual
Photograph by Thomas McBride 17 Hedychium x moorei Hedychium coccineum Hedychium gardnerianum Hardy Ginger-lily Hedychium coccineum x Hedychium gardnerianum (Probable)
SE Asia
‘Tara’ Late Summer - Mid Autumn
Zingiberaceae Ginger Family
6ft Perennial
* This plant will not survive below -10’c night temperatures, protect from very harsh winter nights Photograph from Flickr (CC) Esin Üstün 18 Helenium autumnale N. America Common Sneezeweed
‘Ring of Fire’ Late Summer - Mid Autumn ‘Butterpat’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) John Brandauer 19 Helianthemum nummularium Europe Common Rock-rose
‘Fire Dragon’ Late Spring - Midsummer ‘Henfield Brilliant’
Cistaceae Rock-rose Family
Small Trailing Shrub
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Heather Alexander 20 Helianthus annuus N. America Common Sunflower
‘Claret’ ‘Waooh’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Pastiche’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
* 3ft Annual
* Dry Seeds edible (‘sunflower seeds’), Seeds are harvested commercially for sunflower oil. Photograph from Flickr (CC) Henry Elliss 21 Heliopsis helianthoides N. America False Sunflower
‘Benzinggold’ Midsummer - Mid Autumn ‘Light of Loddon’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
4ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Sascha Gloede 22 Hemerocallis fulva Orange Daylily
East Asia
‘Cayenne’ Summer . ‘Selma Longlegs’
Asphodelaceae Asphodel Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Thomas Cizauskas 23 Hypericum androsaemum Afro-Eurasia Tutsan
Hypericum x inodorum ‘Golden Beacon’ Summer . (Hybrid with H. hircinum)
Hypericaceae St Johns Wort Family
Small Shrub
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Inês Fonseca 24 Inula magnifica Caucasus Giant Fleabane
‘Sonnenstrahl’ Summer .
Asteraceae Daisy Family
4ft Perennial
Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Daderot 25 Leucadendron salignum Common Sunshine Conebush
South Africa
‘Safari Sunset’ Midsummer (Hybrid with L. laureolum) - Mid Autumn
Proteaceae Protea Family
Small Shrub
* This plant should be grown in a sheltered location (cannot survive below -5’c night temperatures) Photograph from Flickr (CC) Eric Hunt 26 Ligularia dentata Leopardplant
East Asia
‘Britt Marie Midsummer - Early Autumn Crawford’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
4ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Lotus Johnson 27 Lilium lancifolium Tiger Lily
East Asia
- Species - (Not AGM) Summer .
Related sp: L. pardalinum
Liliaceae Lily Family
4ft Bulbous
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Katie Steiger-Meister 28 Lonicera sempervirens N. America Coral Honeysuckle
Related Hybrid: Late Spring L. tragophylla x L. sempervirens - Early Autumn x tellmanniana
Caprifoliaceae Honeysuckle Family
10ft+ Climber/Vine
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Bruce Kirchoff 29 Lychnis chalcedonica N. Asia Maltese-Cross
- Species - Summer .
Caryophyllaceae Pink Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) John Brandauer 30 Lysimachia ciliata Fringed Loosestrife
N. America
‘Firecracker’ Summer .
Primulaceae Primrose Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) John Brandauer 31 Meconopsis punicea Sichuan Red Poppy
China
‘Sichuan Silk’ Summer .
Papaveraceae Poppy Family
2ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Steve Garvie 32 Mimulus aurantiacus N. America Orange Bush Monkeyflower
- Species – Midsummer - Early Autumn var. puniceus
Phrymaceae Lopseed Family
Small Shrub
* Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy, Photograph from Flickr (CC) Tom Benson bring indoors in winter. Recommended pot33 plant. Monarda didyma N. America Bergamot, Scarlet Bee Balm
‘Gardenview Scarlet’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Squaw’
Lamiaceae Mint Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Lotus Johnson 34 Nicotiana alata S. America Jasmine Tobacco
Nicotiana x sanderae Summer . (Hybrid with N. forgetiana; not AGM) (Pictured)
Solanaceae Potato Family
2ft Annual
* Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy Photograph from Hsiliu.org.tw 35 Oenothera versicolor Red Evening-Primrose
S. America
Probable ‘Sunset Early Summer - Early Autumn Boulevard’
Onagraceae Willowherb Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) University of California; Davis Arboretum 36 Paeonia delavayi Delavay’s Paeony
China
‘Black Pirate’ Late Spring - Early Summer - Species -
Paeoniaceae Paeony Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Leonora Enking 37 Papaver orientale Anatolia & Caucasus Oriental Poppy
‘Leuchtfeuer’ Late Spring - Midsummer ‘Effendi’ ‘Matador’
Papaveraceae Poppy Family
2ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Alvon Kho 38 Penstemon barbatus N. America Beardlip Penstemon
‘Andenken an Midsummer - Early Autumn Friedrich Hahn’
Plantaginaceae Plantain Family
2ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Lotus Johnson 39 Phlox paniculata N. America Garden Phlox
‘Prince of Orange’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Starfire’ ‘Cherry Red’
Polemoniaceae Jacob’s Ladder Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from FlowersWallpapers (CC) Grazyna Nowotna 40 Rudbeckia fulgida N. America Orange Coneflower
var. deamii Late Summer - Mid Autumn ‘Goldsturm’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
2ft Perennial
Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Jerzi Opiola 41 Rudbeckia hirta N. America Black-eyed Susan
‘Indian Summer’ Late Summer - Mid Autumn ‘Toto series’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
Grown as 2ft Perennial an Annual
Photograph from Flickr (CC) David Siebold 42 Salvia coccinea Scarlet Sage
Americas
‘Lady in Red’ Midsummer - Early Autumn
Lamiaceae Mint Family
2ft Annual
* This plant will not survive below -5’c night temperatures Photograph from Flickr (CC) David Seibold 43 Solidago canadensis N. America Canadian Goldenrod
‘Gardone’ Midsummer - Mid Autumn ‘Goldenmosa’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
3ft Perennial
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Marcus Buchwald 44 Tagetes patula N. America French Marigold
‘Safari series’ Late Spring - Early Autumn ‘Honeycomb’
Asteraceae Daisy Family
1ft Annual
NB: Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy Photograph from Flickr (CC) Taco Witte 45 Tithonia rotundifolia C. America Mexican Sunflower
None Midsummer - Mid Autumn
Asteraceae Daisy Family
3ft Annual
* Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy Photograph from Flickr (CC) Tim Waters 46 Tropaeolum majus Peru Garden Nasturtium
F
‘Alaska series’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Whirlybird series’
Tropaeolaceae Nasturtium Family
1ft Trailing Annual
* This plant will not survive below -5’c night temperatures Photograph from Flickr (CC) Mayank Sharma 47 Tropaeolum peregrinum Canary Creeper
S. America
None Midsummer - Early Autumn
Tropaeolaceae Nasturtium Family
10ft+ Climber
* This plant will not survive below -5’c night temperatures. Grow in a sheltered location or treat as an annual. Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Niepokój Zbigniew 48 Tropaeolum speciosum Chile Flame Nasturtium
- Species - Midsummer - Early Autumn
Tropaeolaceae Nasturtium Family
9ft Climber
Photograph from Flickr (CC) Scott Zona 49 Verbascum nigrum Eurasia Black Mullein
‘Cotswold series’ Early Summer - Early Autumn ‘Tropic Sun’
Scrophulariaceae Figwort Family
4ft Biennial
Photograph © Thomas McBride 50