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There was an end-of-summer feel to the day I took these photographs. We were visiting Bressingham Gardens in Norfolk at the end of August, on a day that was windy and rather cloudy. Our long, hot summer of blue skies and little rain has come to an end. Even so, there was plenty of colour still in these huge gardens, mainly from late-flowering perennials.
Some of the flowers we saw had strikingly vibrant colours, like the ginger lily above, which, according to the nearby label, is Hedychium ‘Tara’. (These gardens were originally created to display perennial plants grown by the Blooms of Bressingham Nursery, so, very conveniently for me, many of them are labelled.) This ginger lily is one of the hardier varieties, which tolerates temperatures down to around -10ºC and can be planted outside. Although there are a few frost-hardy varieties, ginger lilies can rot if they get very wet and some can be tender, so may be best planted in a pot and given protection from winter in a greenhouse or conservatory.
Other brightly glowing flowers included several different cultivars of red hot pokers (Kniphofia) in various shades of orange. The ones that stood out to me the most, though, were the daintier red flowers on the short-growing plant shown below. I prefer the look of these to the large bi-coloured kniphofia varieties, such as the familiar red and yellow ones that you often see.
The flower spike of the ginger lily suggested to me a trail of orange sparks flaring from a firework, and the little kniphofia flowers nearby made a burst of glowing mini-rockets that blazed against a dark background. Fanciful perhaps, but these warm and vivid colours made the flowers feel like an end of summer celebration as they gave a radiant performance to end the season. Floral fireworks are a joyful way to say goodbye to the summer and hello to autumn.
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
Fireworks indeed. As with many other plants you’ve shown pretty pictures of, I looked up Hedychium and found it “is a genus of flowering plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, native to lightly wooded habitats in Asia. There are approximately 70-80 known species, native to India, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar.”
As for the second one, “Kniphofia is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. All species of Kniphofia are native to Africa. Common names include tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily and poker plant.”
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I had no idea that there were so many species, Steve. It’s amazing how plants evolve variations and create new species. 🙂 And ‘torch lily’ is a good name for the Kniphofia – here it’s known as red hot pokers, I guess because most people in the relatively recent past would have had a poker for the fire.
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I’m not keen on the red hot pokers despite having planted two, but I do like these red ones. And I love gingers, but decided that a) they get a bit big for my borders and b) they’d probably hate the wet. Saying that though they do grow well in my nearest NT garden. Fireworks indeed!
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I wasn’t keen on them either, Jude, until I found a small yellow one in a local nursery. The plain colours aren’t gaudy, the way the big bi-colours can be, and the smaller size gives a much more delicate look. I could be tempted to grow a ginger lily, but I might just see what happens if I try to grow some ordinary ginger for eating instead. It would be a very satisfying crop if it grew! 🙂
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I don’t know why, but I don’t find the red hot pokers appealing. I once saw some yellow at a native plant nursery, and liked them more, but it’s just one of those plants that doesn’t do it for me — except for that color, of course. On the other hand, the ginger lily is gorgeous. Both its structure and its color reminds me of our native Chapman’s orchid. I missed them this year, but there’s always next year!
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I felt the same way about the as you, Linda, and I still don’t like the usual big red hot pokers. I do like these very small, single-coloured ones though. The ginger lily really attracted me. It’s such a pretty plant, with all these tiny flowers on the spike adding up to a spectacular display. I can certainly see the similarity to the lovely Chapman’s orchid – hope you manage to see it next year!
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Wow, what beautiful flowers!
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Thank you! I’d love it if these had been growing in my own garden! 🙂
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