Bold effect with striped cannas!

Another crowd-pleaser this summer appears to be striped cannas (pretoria). The large green and yellowish striped leaves with a reddish edge provides a great background planting for just about anything.

They seem to have a classy air about them so I'm growing a clump in a half-barrel with other suitably "classy" flowers: maroon salvia, rich blue (and vanilla-scented) heliotrope, deep yellow strawflower, tetra scarlet geranium and yellow-leaved lysimachia (creeping jenny). The creeping jenny trails down the barrel sides and picks up the yellow tones of the canna stripes.