Let’s not get this wrong. Although they’re not exactly scarce, just knowing about Kniphofias, also called Red Hot Pokers, puts you ahead of other gardeners. After all, as striking as these late-summer-flowering marvels may be, they’re not famed in story or song. At a guess, their rather unpoetic name is more likely to be responsible for this omission than the plants themselves, but it’s too late to ask Wordsworth why he doesn’t seem to have been a Kniphofia fancier!