When it comes to big, bold and well behaved perennials, there are few better than Canna ‘Bengal Tiger’. It’s a star performer of the summer garden, the stems reaching to head height and providing heaps of appeal from early summer through to late autumn. It’s so lush looking that you could be excused for thinking this is one of those tropical plants better suited to Bali than New Zealand gardens, but that’s just an illusion for this is a very adaptable plant, dying back to ground level in winter then shooting away again in spring. because it’s such an upright growing plant, it fits into small gardens with ease. It can even be used as a row in the narrow strip which often occurs between path and boundary fence in small gardens, creating a wonderful piece of garden design as well as a bit of privacy during summer when it’s needed most in the garden.

Plants to mingle with Canna ‘Bengal Tiger’ could include tall, blue flowered perennial Salvias, daylilies (Hemerocallis) such as ‘Arctic Snow’ or ‘Daring Deceptions’, sunflowers, green and yellow Hostas, Abutilons (especially the new, small flowered kinds such as ‘Honeycomb’) and, providing it’s used as a background plant, the all summer flowering, beautiful blue Plumbago ‘Royal Cape’