Alstroemeria ‘Summer Paradise Summer Pepper’

We’ve found this to be a really reliable performer on the nursery, flowering its socks off for months. The flowers are an intense, fiery red with bright yellow throats, flecked with darker markings that give them an exotic look. They just keep coming from early summer right through to the first frosts, providing colour when many other perennials are starting to fade.

It forms a neat, bushy clump of lush, dark green, lance-shaped leaves. Expect it to reach about 60-70cm in height, making it a great choice for the middle of a border. It loves a sunny spot but will cope with a little light shade, and prefers fertile soil that drains well.

A top tip for these is to pull the entire spent flower stem out from the base with a sharp tug, rather than cutting. This encourages the plant to produce even more flowers. It’s a brilliant plant for filling gaps in perennial beds and works wonderfully in large containers where you can enjoy the flowers up close.