Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker) ‘Uvaria’ – 2 litre tall pot

More widely known as Red Hot Pokers, this old fashioned favourite perennial is loved by insects and birds alike. They have been grown throughout the UK for a very long time, but it has only just been realised that they naturally grow on the edges and banks of water. If they are in a moist planting situation they will assume a new vibrancy and repeat flower with vigour and gusto.

Uvaria is a very handsome plant with fat spikes of eye-catching, bright-red flowers that open from yellow buds. The pokers are carried on stiff stems that rise from a clump of long, grassy leaves.