Hot-color border kit

The Hot Mess.

Orange, red and gold, turned all the way up.

Tiki Torch coneflowers, Sunfire tickseed, red hot pokers and a tall daylily, all in sunset colors and all happy in heat. It's loud on purpose. Plant it where you want people to slow down.

10 plants · 4 kinds4 × 6 ft bedFull sun
$343.90
Same price as buying them one by one. The plan's on us.
The Hot Mess
What it looks like

Year two. Then you brag.

Year two, mid-July. Each plant drawn at its full size.

1 ft23141 ft2314
  1. 1Coneflower 'Tiki Torch' × 32–3 ft tall, 18–24 in. wide
  2. 2Daylily 'Rocket City' × 230–36 in. tall, 18–24 in. wide
  3. 3Red hot poker 'Pineapple Popsicle' × 215–24 in. tall and wide
  4. 4Tickseed 'Sunfire' × 320–24 in. tall, 20–24 in. wide
What's in the box

10 plants, 4 jobs.

$107.97
In this kit: Pumpkin-orange anchor
Echinacea hybrid

Coneflower

Pure orange. No pastels here.

Orange you can see from the street. Glowing pumpkin-orange petals that sweep down from a dark reddish-brown cone, on stems sturdy enough to stand through a storm. Butterflies work it in summer, finches pick the seed heads in fall.

Size2–3 ft tall, 18–24 in. wideShowMidsummer into early fall Lightfull, partZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
Full plant page →
In this kit: Pumpkin-orange anchor
Echinacea hybrid

Coneflower

Double orange pom-poms. Pure show.

Orange with a pom-pom center. Drooping red-orange petals around a fluffy, pom-pom center of the same hot color. It's a double coneflower that makes a long-lasting cut flower and still draws butterflies.

Size30–36 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowMidsummer into early fall Lightfull, partZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
Full plant page →
$79.98
In this kit: Tall orange trumpets
Hemerocallis

Daylily

Tall, orange, and not subtle.

Orange with a burnt eye. Big golden-orange flowers with a burnt-orange eye and a lighter throat, carried high on 3 ft stalks in midsummer. It's tall enough to hold the back of a bed and grows in about any soil.

Size30–36 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowMidsummer Lightfull, partZones3–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
Full plant page →
In this kit: Tall orange trumpets
Hemerocallis 'Buttered Popcorn'

Daylily

Big, buttery, and it comes back for more.

Butter yellow, then encore. Large, buttery yellow flowers with a small green throat on tall, strong scapes. It's a rebloomer, so after the main midsummer show it keeps sending up flowers.

Size28–32 in. tall, 18–24 in. wideShowMidsummer, with rebloom Lightfull, partZones3–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWatermoderate
Full plant page →
$65.98
In this kit: Torches
Kniphofia 'Pineapple Popsicle'

Red Hot Poker

A popsicle that hummingbirds actually eat.

Pineapple spikes, all summer. Pineapple-yellow flower spikes over grassy foliage, on a dwarf plant that keeps blooming in flushes from early summer into fall. Hummingbirds find it.

Size15–24 in. tall and wideShowEarly summer to fall, in flushes LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
Full plant page →
In this kit: Torches
Kniphofia hybrid

Red Hot Poker

Pocket-size torches. Hummingbirds approved.

Torch lily, pocket size. Short, stocky spikes of tubular flowers in red fading to orange, over grassy blue-green leaves. It reblooms through summer and hummingbirds treat it like a filling station.

Size12–18 in. tall in bloom, 12–18 in. wideShowLate spring through summer, reblooms LightfullZones5–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
Full plant page →
$89.97
In this kit: Gold front row
Coreopsis grandiflora

Tickseed

Gold with a maroon eye. Very sunny.

Golden yellow, burnt-red center. Big, bright golden flowers with a maroon blotch at the center, held on wiry stems over a low clump. Heat doesn't faze it, and bees work it all day.

Size20–24 in. tall, 20–24 in. wideShowEarly summer into late summer LightfullZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
Full plant page →
In this kit: Gold front row
Coreopsis grandiflora

Tickseed

Lemon yellow with a red eye.

Big lemon flowers, red center. Oversized lemon-yellow flowers with a red ring at the center on a compact clump. Heat and drought don't slow it down, and the bees keep busy.

Size14–16 in. tall, 16–18 in. wideShowEarly to late summer LightfullZones4–9 PetsNot pet-safe; keep out of reachWaterlow
Full plant page →
The whole kit: 10 plants + the planting planEvery plant picked for your zone. Arrives alive, or we replace it.
The planting plan

Dig here. Then here.

4 × 6 ft bedFull sunTap a plant for the details
Back · tallMiddleFront · low
↓ Front edge · path, lawn or walk
What blooms when
AprMayJunJulAugSepOct
1Coneflower
2Daylily
3Red hot poker
4Tickseed

Something in flower 5 of 7 months from April to October.

  1. 1Lay it outSet the pots on the soil to match the plan before you dig. Step back, nudge, then commit.
  2. 2Dig and dropEach hole twice as wide as the pot, just as deep. Crown level with the soil. Firm it in.
  3. 3Soak itWater deeply today, then weekly for a month. After that, mostly leave it alone.
Why it's laid out like this

Daylilies and coneflowers at the back, pokers in the middle, tickseed along the front. Space 18 in. apart. Deadhead the tickseed in July for a second round.

More kits

While you're digging.

The Cottage ArborRose garden kit The Cottage Arbor Romance, minus the spray schedule. 6 plants · An arbor or fence + 6 ft bed · Full to part sun RoseRussian sageCalamintZones 4–9 $209.90Same price as one by one The Bee BorderPollinator garden kit The Bee Border Open for business from June to frost. 9 plants · 4 × 8 ft bed · Full sun Prairie cloverConeflowerMountain mintTickseedAsterAll 5 native or native varietyZones 5–8 $181.91Same price as one by one The Blue PeriodBlue garden kit The Blue Period Every blue a garden can do. 12 plants · 4 × 8 ft bed · Full sun SalviaSpeedwellCatmintBalloon flowerRozanneZones 4–8 $374.88Same price as one by one The Cutting PatchCut-flower kit · Plant this fall The Cutting Patch Flowers for the table, all spring. 4 bags of bulbs · 4 × 8 ft row · Full sun Tulips (35)Daffodils (25)Dutch iris (50)Alliums (25)Zones 3–9 $234.80Same price as one by one Shade, But Make It ColorShade garden kit Shade, But Make It Color Proof shade doesn't have to be green. 13 plants · 3 × 6 ft in part to full shade · Part to full shade Autumn fernBeech fernCoral bellsCoral bellsFoamflowerZones 5–8 $431.87Same price as one by one Deer Can't EvenDeer-resistant border kit Deer Can't Even Everything in it tastes terrible to deer. 12 plants · 4 × 8 ft bed · Full sun SalviaAlliumLavenderCatmintRozanneZones 5–8 $392.88Same price as one by one Balcony BragPatio pot kit Balcony Brag Forty square feet, big opinions. 4 plants · 3 pots, 14–20 in · Full sun LemonRussian sageRed sage $165.92Same price as one by one The BookshelfHome kit The Bookshelf Trailers, at three heights. 5 plants · One bookcase · Medium light PothosInch plantHoyaRabbit's footPeperomia $95Same price as one by one The Break RoomOffice kit The Break Room Built for the room nobody waters. 5 plants · Counters, cabinets, the top of the fridge · Medium light PothosGolden pothosDracaenaSpider plant $110Same price as one by one Garden beds, pots, indoorsAll plant kits →
The Sunday Tip · every Sunday

One good plant idea,
every Sunday.

What to plant this week in your zone, every Sunday. New ways to plant and odd tricks that actually work.