Plants of the Month: The Oranges! (August 2025)

After a brilliant summer, autumn is not too far away and this is when we start to notice more and more orange-flowered plants and berries becoming features in gardens and parks. Orange is a warm and comforting colour, and I’ve listed three that you might be interested in:

Hedychium densiflorum (ginger lily)

From the Himalayas, this perennial plant was bought at an Open Garden in SE London 3 or 4 years ago and grows happily in a large terracotta pot on the north side of my boundary fence.
I needed stature and handsome folliage which this plant has, and although it’s suffered during this summer’s drought, I still prefer it growing in a tall container, rather than positioned in a flower bed. The orange candle-shaped flower heads are a bonus, now coming into flower.

Several other plants are happily growing at its base: Geranium nodosum, with its long-flowering purple flowers; purple-flowered, thistle-like Klasea; the handsome blue-green foliage of Melianthus major; and the annual vigorous climber, Cobaea scandens (cup-and-saucer vine), to hopefully, and quickly, cover my new trellis as a short-term solution. An orange and purple colour scheme… come to think of it, this container planting sounds very much in the style of a certain gardening presenter!

Rosa glauca (formerly Rosa rubrifolia, aka red-leaved rose)

A species rose from the mountainous regions of central and southern Europe and a favourite of garden designers for use in show gardens due to its beautiful foliage. It has extremely attractive small and finely serrated blue-grey-green leaves, often tinged purple.

Although the rose puts on a show in June with its small, pink flowers, its arching stems of purple-red are a real feature, especially now when covered in masses of plump, warm-orange hips. I have this rose positioned so that one half of the arched stems align with the trellis and the other half cascade over two horizontal beams on the pergola.

Thunbergia alata (black-eyed-Susan)

Named after Carl Thunberg, a Swedish naturalist (1743-1828), it was just recently that I purchased this plant locally, and I am delighted by the warm orange tones of this annual climber, which comes in a variety of colours. It is positioned to make use of some broken trellis and liven up a shady area. The pop of colour from the orange flowers is just what is needed, especially when the sun sparkles on its petals.

Anna L