If you want to inject passion into your garden, then red it is and if you want it to return year after year, then we need to look at red flowering perennials!

Red may be the colour of danger and blood but it is also the colour of love and joy especially around St. Valentine’s Day so why not keep the sentiment going in the summer garden. Frequently red roses, carnations or tulips are given to signify those emotions at this time of year but nothing lights up the flower garden more in summer than red. Think of how many red geraniums are sold in the spring for livening up those planters.

There are cardinal red perennials, which will return every year and can be stand outs in the perennial border but not a huge number for our climate. There are many annuals such as Zinnias, Poppies and plants treated as annuals, such as Geraniums. I must also put a plug in for Sunsatia Nemesia ‘Cranberry Red,’ which was a stand out for me last year. However, bright red is not the most common flower colour of perennials.

There are some stunners however including a humble cottage garden plant known alternatively as Maltese Cross, Scarlet Lightning, Jerusalem Cross, Flower of Bristol, Burning Love, Fireball and others depending on the culture in which it is grown. Lychnis chalcedonica was its original classification/ botanical name but as frequently happens it was reclassified in 1994 to Silene chalcedonica. I recently posted, ‘What’s in a Name’ about the reclassification of Russian Sage! These reclassifications are nothing to worry about however as all names are considered synonyms and all are acceptable. The original botanical name contains the meaning for the plant. Lychnis from the Greek , meaning lamp in reference to the brilliantly coloured flowers and chalcedonica, from Chalcedonia. Lychnis coronaria (meaning bright crown) is another of my favouries but its blooms are more purple and pink than red. Scarlet Lightning, as I call it, has its provenance on the Asian continent but it has now become naturalized in some parts of the United States.

From top left: Maltese Cross with Variegated Fritillary Butterflies, with periwinkle Delphinium and with Bergamot

Scarlet Lightning has a short flowering season in July usually. However, if the first blooms are nipped off as soon as they fade the plant will continue to produce smaller blooms from each leaf axil or node down the stem. This plant is tolerant of poor soil but prefers a good loam. It is somewhat drought tolerant but does need a regular drink. If planted in a crowded border it may need staking to prevent it collapsing in its attempts to be the tallest. It does best in full sun and is a main attractant for butterflies.

Bee Balm, Bergamot, Horse Mint, Oswego tea, the flavouring for ‘Earl Grey’ tea. Classified as Monarda after a Spanish botanist named Mordez, there are several varieties including Wild Bergamont which grows in the dry grasslands of the Rocky Mountains around where I live. It has a pink colouring but smells wonderful along with the wild pink roses, which bloom at the same time.  Monarda didyma(double or twin, referring to the stamens)) is the scarlet flowered variety that is a knockout in the summer garden. It blooms continuously from July through to fall. It makes a wonderful cut flower and the Hummingbirds absolutely love it. There are other species and varieties of Monarda, some of which are shorter or have different colours, white to shades of purple and pink but the Scarlet Monarda is the tall brightly coloured one beloved by bees and Humming Birds.

Scarlet Bee Balm is also somewhat drought tolerant but will require a drink on a fairly regular basis. It spreads through underground rhizomes, so will travel and pop up a short distance from its original planting. This is not a problem however. It can easily be pulled if unwanted and, or new plants started. It requires a loamy soil and does best in full sun but will tolerate shade with fewer blooms.

Scarlet Monarda, Bee Balm with Humming Bird, Delphinium, Daylily and rose, more Hummers

Roses, Rosa after the Latin, ‘Roza’. I would be remiss if I did not mention red roses of which there are many. To be sure your rose will return year after year, a hardy rose needs to be selected. Hybrid Tea roses with the classic fat buds and blooms will survive in a Zone Three with protection but for ease of growing and reliability, two of my favourites are Winnipeg Parks and Henry Kelsey, a climber. Both roses were bred at the Morden Research Station in Manitoba as part of a world famous rose breeding program. Sadly, this program ceased around 2010 due to a change in government funding priorities.   Both the roses I mention were bred to be tough. Henry Kelsey is a bright red rose, which will produce two main flushes of bloom but will also bloom sporadically between the main flushes. It is known as a recurrent bloomer. It is multi stemmed and can be trained as a climber to reach about 7 feet. It does have a slight spicy fragrance, an attribute, which is more difficult to find in these hardier recurrent bloomers.

Climber Henry Kelsey with yellow stamens above

and Winnipeg Parks, right

Winnipeg Parks is a shrub rose with similar qualities although it does bloom more continuously in my experience. There are hundreds of red roses and other tough ones might include a non-recurrent bloomer such as a Rugosa species. However, for more than one flush of bloom the Morden, Parkland, and Explorer named roses are the way to go.

As for other red perennials, there are red Yarrows, Cinquefoils and gorgeous red Peonies to check out. There are also a number of perennials with reddish foliage such as Lysimachia ‘Firecracker’, Heucheras and Red Veined Sorrel.  

In order from top left: Cinquefoil, variety unknown, painting by Jeannette Oostlander of Echinacea behind fresh Pussy Willow, perennial Oriental Poppy and Peony.

Although the peace and calm of pastel colours make a wonderful flower display, I, personally love to have that flash of red in the perennial border.