Wildly Successful: Chasmanthe floribunda

Chasmanthe floribunda accent a narrow bed between sidewalk and fence. Photographs by David Goldberg
Though garden fashions change, the exuberant success of many familiar plants keeps them popular with amateur gardeners. Some of these plants are so willing to grow that they often appear unbidden in gardens and parks—even through cracks in the pavement. Horticulturists ignore these common plants, relating to them as plants that get in the way of rarer, or more fashionable choices. When used well, however, these common plants are regional garden treasures.
To the casual observer, Chasmanthe floribunda, ornamenting winter gardens with its fine flashes of orange or yellow, appears to be a sort of crocosmia on steroids. Though it is indeed a close relative of crocosmia, a fellow member of the iris family (Iridaceae), close inspection reveals that it is a quite different plant. The flat sprays of two- to five-foot tall leaves appear with fall rains, while crocosmia lies dormant below ground. In mid to late winter, the flower stems emerge. The three-inch long flowers consist of a curved tube ending in six spreading p...