Hot Bed
The South-East facing Hot Bed provides a real splash of colour.
The season starts with the orange tulip 'Ballerina' and Oriental poppies in rich tones of red and orange which contrast vividly with the Bearded Iris 'Deep Black'.
I hope that I have finally found a warm spot that is appreciated by the striking orange Fritillaria imperialis (Crown Imperial). The plants have come up for 3 consecutive years, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
The border peaks in summer and autumn with yellow Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam', globes of the elegant Allium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation', penstemons such as 'Hopley's Purple', fiery orange-red Euphorbia griffithii 'Dixter', and potentillas including 'Gibson's Scarlet' and the striking 'William Rollison' (scarlet orange, double flowers with streaks of yellow).
Heleniums in tones of orange and yellow attract butterflies and bees. My favourite is the copper-toned Sahin's Early Flowerer which flowers from July until the first frosts.
The purple clematis 'Star of India', which is a late flowerer, threading through the giant golden oat grass, Stipa gigantea, provides height and colour at one end of the border. Knautia macedonica (small flowers of burgundy red) self-seeds happily, filling awkward gaps.