To my eye, orange is one of the happiest and most joyful colors in the garden. But many gardeners shy away from using it. While it’s true that a little splash of orange goes a long way and an entire bed filled with orange flowers would be visual overload, there are still loads of perennials with orange flowers that should be welcomed into your garden.
If you’re still warming up to the idea of using some orange flowers as an accent in your garden, remember that if you pair them with blues, violets and silvers, they’ll be toned down dramatically. Here are just a few orange-flowered perennials to consider:
From White Flower Farm
Agastache ‘Acapulco Orange’: ’Acapulco Orange’ is basically bullet-proof. With its narrow, fragrant leaves and tangerine-orange tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds, it blooms from midsummer right through to fall.
Like other Agastaches, ‘Acapulco Orange’ is immune to most pests, including deer and rabbits. At just over 1′ tall, Acapulco Orange’ makes a colorful front of the border plant for a bed with full sun and good drainage. Hardy in zones 6 – 9.
From White Flower Farm
Alstroemeria ‘Tangerine Tango’: If you’re looking for an easy way to add a tropical feel to zone 6 garden, this long blooming lily with its vivid tangerine flowers accented with a yellow throat, may be the answer. ‘Tangerine Tango’ will bloom its head off most of the summer, you may notice a slight break in flowering during the high heat of the summer, but don’t despair, ‘Tangerine Tango’ will be back once the heat disappears. At 30″ tall, this is a great middle of the border plant that also lasts for days and days as a cut flower. Hardy in zones 6 – 9.
From Garden Crossings
Coreopsis ‘Sienna Sunset’: If your taste in orange runs to the more subdued, ‘Sienna Sunset’ may be just the ticket for your garden. Flowers start out a bright burnished orange color and then lighten to a softer orange as they mature.
Like other thread-leaf coreopsis, ‘Sienna Sunset’ prefers a site with full to partial sun and is drought tolerant once established. The bowl-shaped flowers on this 18″ – 20″ stunner make the perfect landing pads for bees and other pollinators and the fine foliage offers an interesting textural contrast to many other perennials. Hardy in zones 5-9. Deer-resistant.
From White Flower Farm
Geum ‘Alabama Slammer’: A delicious treat for your late spring/early summer garden, ‘Alabama Slammer’ is a spicy brew of multi-shaded orange flowers with burgundy stems and buds for an extra kick of color.
Provide a sunny spot in the front of the border and you’ll be rewarded by for weeks on end with a bevy of butterflies that will come to drink in its nectar. Hardy in zones 5 – 7. Deer-resistant.
From White Flower Farm
Viola ‘Chantreyland’: Make sure you love the vivid dreamsicle-orange color of ‘Chantreyland’ because it will be blooming all summer and right into fall.
This little violet can be used to edge a walkway, in between stepping stones or any other partially shady spot where you need a pop of color. Violas are an important larval host plant for many butterflies so if you’re trying to create a wildlife-friendly garden, you can’t go wrong with violas. Hardy in zones 5 – 9. Deer-resistant.
Do you use orange in your garden? What’s your favorite orange flowered plant for adding delicious color to your garden?
I was so looking forward to my orange geum, but the deer came along and nipped off every bud…just empty stems sticking up, and same for the strawberries. LOVE orange, especially with purple and magenta!
Ricki, Oh, I hope that doesn’t mean my deer will eat my Geum. They can do so much damage in such a short time. I transplanted some heuchera the other day and the deer ate all the leaves in one night.
My goodness yes I use orange. My most-used orange perennial is an ancient daylily called ‘Salmon Sheen’ and fav annual is Tithonia, which reseeds and attracts butterflies. In my island beds I copy Valerie Easton’s palette of all shades of orange, palest yellows, deep purple and chartreuse using plants that suvive hot, humid summers.
Nell Jean, Your garden certainly sounds colorful. I had to google Tithonia to see what it looks like and it definitely makes a statement, doesn’t it?
I must confess, I’m one of those who shies away from orange. It’s not that I don’t like the colour (I painted my bathroom orange!) but in the garden I just don’t seem to care for it. I usually opt for red or yellow when I want a strong colour.
Marguerite, I can understand that. Sometimes colors just don’t translate well into the garden. For me, it’s red.
I love orange anything! My favorite is Butterfly Weed–in orange only, I have seen some in pictures that seem to be yellow. Now, don’t get me wrong–I love yellow too, but orange perennials that I like have been difficult to find. Also, I want them to be Tall orange plants.
Every so often, a native Butterfly Weed grows in my meadow area. My big dissapointment this season, was that the very healthy plant I bought last spring and grew wonderfully, did not grow this year. This is the only established perennial that did not come up. I guess it did not like the winter-spring weather.
I also like Belamcanda in orange (this plant may have had a name change)
I like the sound of Nell Jean’s garden–my kind od colors!