You might want a year-round garden along the street. Crocosmia, marigolds and daylilies, pictured above, will grow in your area, midsummer. Orange roses bloom at the back of this bed. One year I had orange tulips, when I believed I could grow tulips. Now there are early yellow daffodils on the end, California poppies in the spring and orange daylilies have moved to the front. This summer I planted tithonia and marigolds among the rocks, not sure if the marigolds will be orange or yellow. There is blue salvia toward the back and a vitex on the end, to balance some of the gaudy. It's all fun.

Nell

If you scatter seeds of Cosmos sulphureus...you can have it all! :) It's such a great annual and will seed and bloom another generation or two before summer's end.

Nell, that is a gorgeous bed. What cultivars of roses and daylilies are you using? I can't grow tulips either - way too many deer.

pfnastin, I was only familiar with cosmos bipinnatus. I love this plant and I thank you for showing it to me.

I'll have to take pics of dd's bright colors bed - it has nasturtiums in all shades of yellow, orange and red, plus some sunflowers are just starting to bloom.

Hmmm.... I planted lots and lots of orange marigold seeds. Is this a cosmos or a marigold? I didn't buy any orange cosmos seeds, but I think another gardener might have sent some to me.

What about this one... I planted ladybird yellow cosmos... is this it?

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Thanks (can you tell I'm still learning about these seeds that I've never sown before! LOL)

Cameron

Lilies---these didn't bloom long, but they are beautiful! (Pardon the weeds!) LOL

Blanket flower---I think these have been blooming for at least a month now---daylily, marigolds, snapdragon, and some type of yellow sedum(?).

My whole garden leans a bit toward yellow, orange and red during mid to late summer. This photo shows red daylilies behind blackberry lilies (one of my greatest favorites) with plenty of daisies to cool things down.

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That tall leafy stem on the right leads to these - at 6 feet tall they didn't quite fit in the photo!

I can't resist showing you one more of the blackberry lilies. They are such lovely plants but a bit underused I think.

Cameron, those are cosmos sulpherus, I think. I have tons. As they say, once you have cosmos, you will always have cosmos. Good for attracting goldfinches too. Or maybe that's the zinnias and verbena.

I made a "hot color" bed in our front entry 2 yrs ago. It has really filled in this year. Here are some pics from late June-today:

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Wow, thanks for the pictures everyone. Truly gorgeous.

Nell, I looked up the Charisma rose. What a beauty. I've never grown roses - how much work is it?

Cameron, those cosmos are so pretty. I am definitely scattering seed next spring.

Marynj, your lilies are so pretty. I just planted some blanket flower in my other beds. I'm hoping they overwinter.

Lindakimy, I am unfamiliar with blackberry lilies. They look spectacular. How is the growth habit? Are they a spreader? And I love the color of your daylilies. Do you know the cultivar?

Threedodsmom (waht a cute name!), what is the yellow flower in your fist picture? And I love the lush look in your second picture. I see some dark red in there. What are they?

Thanks again for all the great ideas. I can't wait to plant.

Wow Ladies, you have some beautiful pictures here. I wish I had more time to comment on all of these but please know how much I enjoy seeing all of them so thanks so much for posting.

I just came in. I'm repainting my foutain and it's a bigger project than I thought it would be. It was either paint it or send it to the dump. I'm glad I'm taking the time to repaint cuz I've had it for 14 years and I do like it. LOL

Punk

Threedogsmom, I have those exact daylilies that are in your first picture - rust with bright yellow - a gift with no name tag. I always wondered but assumed they are just a variety of Ditch Lily. Is that right, or do you have some other name for them?

wonbyherwits,
I know that the second picture is the cosmos sulphureus (the Ladybird). I think the first one is, as well...is it the same height as the yellow one?...they're taller than marigolds. And is the foliage lacier than your other marigolds? I always get a mix of the yellows and oranges...lemon yellow to very dark orange. They seed prolifically.

a2zmom, the blackberry lilies are very easy plants in my garden. I haven't noticed any pests on them and they are apparently unbothered by very high heat and humidity. I've never seen them looking droopy.

About half of mine are from a small clump I bought and half are from wintersowed seed. The foliage looks very much like iris foliage but holds up far better through the summer. I love how the blooms are held so high on airy branched scapes - they really dance in the wind. Each flower lasts only a short time but they are interesting afterward as they make that tight little twist and then begin to form the "blackberry". I leave mine standing through winter because they look neat as the seed covers shed and the "blackberries" show.

They will reseed and my patch is gradually growing and getting thicker. But I wouldn't call them invasive. I garden in pretty inhospitable sand, though, so they might be a bit overenthusiastic given richer conditions. They do seem to enjoy the good drainage.

As for the daylily, I have no idea of the cultivar. Most of mine I've picked up in unnamed grab bags or from mark down tables. That one is a really lovely shade of red that I've never seen in a store. Here's a closer view to show the detail. This was taken a year or two ago.

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Nasturtiums from dd's hot colors border:

Hi all,
Long-time lurker Renee here. I love hot colors.
I just re-did my garden last year to emphasize them a bit more.

Nasturtiums and yarrow:

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Cosmos:

Roses and irises:

Thanks all, for sharing your beautiful gardens.

Those HOT garden pics are fabulous. For some reason I am really loving the hot colors now. I have a bed going that is oranges yellows and purple. Looking at these pictures gives me more ideas and reminds me I have nasturtium seed that didn't get planted this year.

Bee balm and Coreopsis - This is my second year with this combo, it really stands out
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The orange one is probably 4 feet tall and needs no support. The short yellow is about 6" high and so few have survived the bunnies, yet the orange ones are left alone -- that's why I thought the orange was marigold as the leaves are identical!

Cameron

Question:"Threedodsmom (waht a cute name!), what is the yellow flower in your fist picture? And I love the lush look in your second picture. I see some dark red in there. What are they?"
Answer: standard button garden mum planted last fall, blooming now in July. A happy coincidence ! Dark red touches are Jacob Cline monarda, knockout rose new growth showing, and canna "Wyoming" leaves.

Second Question: "Threedogsmom, I have those exact daylilies that are in your first picture - rust with bright yellow - a gift with no name tag. I always wondered but assumed they are just a variety of Ditch Lily. Is that right, or do you have some other name for them?"
Answer: They are not the common ditch lilies - you can see a ditch lily in my second pic down, to the right, a tall scape towards the front/right of the bed. You can see more pics in the "poised for lily explosion" thread I started. I do not remember the name of the burgundy and yellow daylilies in the first pic, but they have multiplied very well in just 2 years ! Got at Lowe's.

Lindakimy, I wish you knrw what that daylily was. It's just stunning.

Irene-dsc, I love the nasturtiums. What aren't I growing them currently? I must add then in to my wild mix bed.

Hosenemesis, I love the combos. Very pretty.

Hosta-house, I never thought of pairing monarda and coreopsis. I like it. (I currently grow echinacea in front of my monarda).

Threedogsmom, I never would have guessed mums! They look great.

You name it, it's yellow/orange in my bed. This is last year's jungle. A couple of my favorites are:

"Indian Summer" Rudbeckia- a HUGE bloomer with wide mustard yellow perfectly-rounded petals and a lovely orange ring on the petals around the center cone.

"Bright Lights" Cosmos- Yellows, oranges & reds that'll take your garden right to frost if you keep deadheaded.

"Starlight" Zinnias- there were two particularly lovely BRIGHT red & oranges in that mix that I had from 2007. Nearly "day-glow" and so pretty.

"Fire Eater" Iris- it's an early variety...pic is below. It'll bloom before the tall bearded ones. Stands out like nobody's business when my Iris Bed starts up in the spring.

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Oh yeah. Fire Eater is aglow.

All of these pictures are so great. I'm putting in a big new area in my backyard and was looking for ideas for "hot" colors since it will be further away from the house. Thanks everyone for posting pictures and listing plants.

Lindakimy, I'm glad you posted a close-up of the blackberry lily. I agree with you that it is a beautiful plant and very underused. It reminded me that I'll have to include it in my backyard!!

mmqchdygg, thanks for posting those pictures. Your beds are amazing. Did you do that stone edging yourself? It's very nice.

Here is a dahlia from my hot color bed. It is bright yellow and red streaked, very striking to see in person. I highly recommend using dahlias (as annuals in my area) for filling in holes in your beds starting around July and going until frost. This is the first year I have used them and they really are great "punctuation marks" in the garden for the eye to focus on, not to mention what nice cut flowers they are. I got a bag of 10 (5 each of 2 complimentary varieties) from Costco this spring for $10 and they are well worth it. Will do again next year. I need to stake them better though. I didn't know what to expect this year and they are a bit floppy/heavy/sloppy so I need to figure out some reinforcements !

That dalia is amazing. What an eye catcher, threedogsmom!

I agree that they are a great plant. I usually put a few in my "anything goes" bed, but this year I just ran out of time.

-mmqchdygg, Fantastic!

-Nell, Oomph! You hit me right in the heart! How did you know Crocosmia are a weakness of mine?

I have quite a few hot colors in late June early July. I only have a few nice pics though.

Simple combo. Malteese Cross and Hot Pokers.
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Some random annual Rudbeckia and 'Tuscan Sun' Rose.

Lily and poppy.

Helenium 'Mardi Gras' has all the colors you are looking for in one plant! The early budding flowers are golden yellow and open to orange flecked with same yellow and russet red. The flower fades to a medium orange. I love it! I could not imagine my garden without it now.
CMK

yes on the rocks question. They 'grow' in my yard, so I just keep adding them to the edging. Funny thing you mention that...the biggest issue with that type of edging is that you GOTTA keep resetting it because it settles, and the grass grows up in it. I'm seriously thinking about round-up-ing underneath it soon, or taking it out altogether, because it's not a 'professional' job, and the rocks keep falling out into the lawn when you weed-whack.

So anyway...here's a couple more orange/yellow shots from pix I just uploaded for this year:

Nasturtiums: I believe "Alaska" is the orange one, lighter oranges are "Dreamsicles" and the reddish-orange ones are "Scarlet Gem." Daylilies are "Black-eyed Stella," and those ruds are "Toto."

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