SUBDUED pastel tones of lavender, mauve and pink alongside silver, cream and grey make for a mellow and relaxing garden picture.

An antique ‘homes and gardens’ look in the best possible taste.

Sometimes though, we might like to shake things up, disturb the peace and introduce something a little more shocking to jar us out of our complacency. The startling Mexican Sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia is just the plant for this. It certainly won’t let you walk by unnoticed as its fiery orange flowers shout out “look at me” from within more discreet and bashful company.

Elsewhere, used among bolder foliage and flowers on the hotter side of the spectrum, it gives an exotic subtropical effect even in our often very cool temperate climate.

This tender annual couldn’t be simpler to grow. Pop the seeds in a pot quite late in spring. Within weeks they are leafy seedlings a couple of inches high and ready to plant out.

Once in the ground forget them for a while and find by the time their flaming, blazing flowers start to scream “scorching hot,” the multi-branched plants will be at least four-feet high and as much across.

The bold three-inch flowers are a magnet for butterflies and bees and just go on and on, at least until the wet cold winter quells their fire.

So, if you are bored of too much good taste gardening, and are looking to spice up your garden, then turn up the heat with Tithonias.