There are various forms of Salvia regla (Mt Emory, Jame, Queretaro, Huntington), S. lineata, some S. greggii and S. x jamensis forms (Devanteville, Pat Vlasto, Orange Yucca-Do, California Sunset, etc.), S. stolonifera, and bicolored forms and species Such as Sierra San Antonio, Senorita Leah, and Shell Dancer. There are other orange Salvias that are not hardy, such as S. tubiflora, S. squalens, S. sp. 411, ans S. sessei

When I stripped our old cabinetry, I used stripper, a good putty knife (for scraping up gobs of remover and finish on large flat surfaces) and then a lot of fine steel wool and mineral spirits to get in grooves and edges. Finished off with a random orbit sander and a few of those sanding sponges. My woodworking DH would cringe if he knew I was mentioning this--- mentioning, not suggesting, mind you ;^) , but I inadvertently stripped the oil based poly from our kitchen table over a period of time. This happened because I would use a homemade ammonia and rubbing alcohol cleaner on the tile kitchen counters and then swing by the table (with the damp rag) on the way to the laundry room, and wipe the top off. In not really all that much time, the ammonia/alcohol/mostly water mixture took the poly clean off down to the stain. I don't know that I would suggest this as an option, but if you are thinking of stripping and sanding at this point, it might not hurt to play with an inconspicuous spot and see what it does.

The problem isn't so much that it's orange, but rather that there is so much of it showing. You'll never hide the fact that it's the foundation walls by painting it to match the siding. Paint it a darker color in green or brown and then--and this is the most important part--plant something!!!! You need sizable plants to camouflage the foundation--not necessarily a solid hedge, but something in front to draw the eye. Rhododendrons, or hydrangeas, maybe, with an ornamental tree in the mix--dogwood, Japanese maple, crape myrtle.

OK, back to orange amaryllis. This is a species amaryllis ( Hippeastrum puniceum) that a friend grew in Hawaii years ago. Mater of fact I gave them to her in '73 to plant at her house. I helped her plant them because I was moving away and wanted someone special to have them. Later She moved and her house became a botanical garden/nursery tourist trap. I went there years later , maybe in 2003 with my sister and the Philippino workers were weeding out the bulbs . They said they were weeds , so I said hand them over.....LOL. They remembered Paulani too. We were sitting under some ginger plants passing the time of day . It made my day. I have had problems growing them out here . They have not bloomed in YEARS. I fertilized them and tossed compost on them twice last year and they did respond. I love the curves on these flowers.The color has some sherbet to it.