These Californian natives produce brightly coloured flowers for the summer border or for cutting. The plants are compact, with mid-green, pointed leaves, and bear trumpet-shaped blooms of red, cerise, peach or pink, often edged with white.
The velvety flowers of nemesia are like a smaller version of antirrhinums, and come in an equally dazzling range of colours suitable for the summer border.
Petunias -Summer bedding would not be the same without the trumpet shaped flowers of petunia hybrids providing a focus of colour that is vivid without being gaudy.
Native to South America, these daisy-like flowers bring vivid colour to borders or containers well into the autumn. Varieties are available in shades of yellow and pink.
Tagetes patula, the French marigold, is in fact a native of Mexico. Various strains produce flowers of yellow and orange, sometimes blotched with crimson or bronze, some with double flowers.
Gazania - The brilliant daisy-like flowers of cream, yellow, orange, crimson or mauve will only open in direct sunlight. The narrow leaves are grey on the underside.