I'm designing a sunset color themed garden and I'm looking for a wider variety of flowers to add. I've gotten some yellow/red blend roses and some pink and yellow mix of lilies. I'm thinking of adding Lantana, but my dog tends to nibble on everything and I'm wondering if it's poisonous enough to make her sick.
Any ideas on other flowers that mix yellows, oranges, and reds? Short annuals that are good for path borders?
Thanks!
- applestar
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Can't beat Butterfly Weed/Flower (Asclepias tuberosa) for great hot orange/yellow. Perennial. You might also be able to grow the Mexican A. curassavica (too cold around here) which is fire engine red and yellow. Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) is tall with hot orange and yellow. Tulip, Daililies and Irises. Aquilegia canadensis. Gaillardia, Coreopsis, California poppies. Sedum, Penstemmon, Prickly Pear Cactus, Crocosmia, Liatris and Lavender are a lovely purple color of sunset clouds....
Oh, alright -- short annuals -- Portulaca, Marigold, Naturtiums, Salvia, Fuchsia... huh, not doing much with annuals lately, can't think of anything else!
Oh! Not flowers, but I'm growing Rainbow Swiss chard this year and the stems range in colors from red, orange, yellow, white.
Oh look! Red Hot Pokers : https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16515&highlight=
Hmm... speaking of bulbs, how about Crown Imperials (Fritillaria) and Foxtail Lilies/Desert Candles (Eremurus)?
Arrgh! Look what you started! I keep thinking of more!
OK this is the LAST TIME I'm coming back here: Passion Flowers
Oh, alright -- short annuals -- Portulaca, Marigold, Naturtiums, Salvia, Fuchsia... huh, not doing much with annuals lately, can't think of anything else!

Oh look! Red Hot Pokers : https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16515&highlight=
Hmm... speaking of bulbs, how about Crown Imperials (Fritillaria) and Foxtail Lilies/Desert Candles (Eremurus)?
Arrgh! Look what you started! I keep thinking of more!

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I know you said you wanted short flowers, but would you consider sunflowers? there are shorter varieties that I've seen in the 3-4 ft range. (okay, still tall, but not in comparison to the 12 ft-er's ! But I know you mentioned a garden and then a path border, so I assume you wouldn't mind a tall plant in the garden part.)
Zinnias are a nice short plant and they also come in a range of colors, and I'm sure you could find some reds, oranges, and yellows. These look nice around a walkway. Petunias also look very nice (especially the wave variety), and they do come in very nice reds as well as pinks (though I think the pinks I always see would not match very well)
Right now I've got a warm-shade bed in my yard, and I've got portulacas's in pink, red, and yellow making a border around it. They look fantastic, but if you are in a rainy area, they will not do so well. They tend to prefer arid conditions, or at least dry ones. (which makes them pretty easy to care for as well). I know they can be kind of multi-colored as well. I love mine!
If you are thinking of continuing this sunset theme next spring, I'd suggest looking for some tulips. This past spring we had some double-late tulips, I believe they were called "Sunlover" and it was a good name. They were a brilliant yellow/orange/red blend in each flower. (Now would be a good time to start looking for some tulip bulbs, too, if you like to have them for the spring. I just bought TONS of bulbs from American Meadows because they're having a 50% off sale. There was a large selection of yellow/orange/red/warm colored mixes, so you might want to check it out.)
Zinnias are a nice short plant and they also come in a range of colors, and I'm sure you could find some reds, oranges, and yellows. These look nice around a walkway. Petunias also look very nice (especially the wave variety), and they do come in very nice reds as well as pinks (though I think the pinks I always see would not match very well)
Right now I've got a warm-shade bed in my yard, and I've got portulacas's in pink, red, and yellow making a border around it. They look fantastic, but if you are in a rainy area, they will not do so well. They tend to prefer arid conditions, or at least dry ones. (which makes them pretty easy to care for as well). I know they can be kind of multi-colored as well. I love mine!
If you are thinking of continuing this sunset theme next spring, I'd suggest looking for some tulips. This past spring we had some double-late tulips, I believe they were called "Sunlover" and it was a good name. They were a brilliant yellow/orange/red blend in each flower. (Now would be a good time to start looking for some tulip bulbs, too, if you like to have them for the spring. I just bought TONS of bulbs from American Meadows because they're having a 50% off sale. There was a large selection of yellow/orange/red/warm colored mixes, so you might want to check it out.)
Last edited by superpony123 on Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.