Red-flowering plants

Plants with red flowers for a colour-themed border.

Red is the boldest, hottest colour in the border, demanding attention and bringing drama, but it needs handling with confidence or not at all. Scarlet and orange-reds belong in a hot scheme with bronze foliage, while the cooler crimson and blood-reds sit better with purple and deep pink. Red advances strongly, so a little goes a long way; dotted thinly it looks like a mistake, while massed it reads as deliberate. Dark red flowers, like the richest dahlias, can be lost without a lighter backdrop, so place them against silver or lime. These plants gather the full range of reds, from clear scarlet to velvety near-black crimson, for a scheme with real heat.

Border Builder is a garden border planner for iPhone and iPad. Pick from the 169 plants below and it works them into a full plan: how many of each, where they go, and how the bed reads through the seasons.

169 plants for this

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