Helen's flower

A first-rate sturdy perennial for the midsummer border, the warm-coloured flowers have a brown eye surrounded by brick red, yellow-tipped petals which keep going until early autumn. 'Margot' can be mixed with brasher heleniums like the bright yellow 'Sonnenwunder', and the copper red 'Moerheim Beauty'. Plant in drifts or bold groups. None are fussy, but avoid ground which bakes bone dry, and keep dead-heading.