This perennial can enable you to clown around a bit with colour in your summer garden. The Sparaxis, also known as the Harlequin flower, combines bright single-colour petals with a large black heart that’s patterned with contrasting colours. This can sometimes give the impression of another layer of petals. A group of these trumpet-like Sparaxis flowers bursting with colour from early to midsummer will add fun to your garden, if your Sparaxis bulbs are planted in full sun in borders, rockeries, or containers. Only 25-30cm tall, a group of these would turn parts of your garden into a magic carpet as the short-lived flowers are replaced regularly by other blooms on the same spike.