With Dahlia and Red hot pokers: Aster novae-angliae ‘Purple Cloud’ with Kniphofia rooperi and Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Billowing purple asters joust with burnt-yellow dahlias and kniphofia (red hot poker) in this lurid modern take on the herbaceous border. At a time when everything else in the garden is bleaching to muted browns, biscuits, coppers and reds, this border is like a rave party in a dull suburb.
But though the Day-Glo colours might seem anarchic, the scheme works because it follows a regimented formula: for every dominant plant (red hot poker), there are twice as many accent plants (dahlias) and a mass of filler plants four times the size (the dainty asters).
