Kniphofias are one my Red Garden joys: the hot orange, yellow, and red spikes of flowers are unique in hardy perennials. And because the plants so often succumb to wetness in the Winter, they are oddities indeed here in New England. (I do some Extreme Mulching to get them through.)
This season, 'Alcazar' is better than ever, partly just because the clump is another year older.
Six spikes at once! The burnt-orange flowers, with only a bit of yellow in the oldest (at the bottom), are a vivid but not cacaphonous adjunct to the red of the nearby Jacob Cline monarda.
And the height and intensity of Alcazar is also great filler before dahlias (out of sight to the back of it) get going in August.
This is the sister clump, across the pathway. Yes: TEN spikes at once!

Butterfly "Weed" couldn't be more garden-worthy. Heat&cold impervious, drought-proof, immortal, flop-free, and guaranteed to bloom if only you give it sun and any (truly, any) soil, lean or rich, as long as it's well-drained in the Winter. Butterflies really do love it too. An excellent perennial, truly in the top twenty for sunny gardens from Zone 4 - 9. That's Minneapolis to Maine, Madison to Los Angeles: Most of the country!
Here's the species, with the typical uncompromising-orange flowers.
Yes, the picture is fuzzy; it's just a still from today's video on GardenShorts.com.
The plant, at least, is lovely without a doubt. But there's no getting around it: those flowers are orange. There's a natural variation in color, so watchful gardeners and growers have so far identified two named cultivars of different shades. 'Hello Yellow' is indeed just that.
This is probably far more versatile than the orange, coordinating happily but not loudly with blue, white, burgundy, grey, and any other yellow you have around the garden. Widely available—this picture is from the White Flower Farm site. But yellow isn't what I need more of in my Red Gardens. Neither is orange. Red, please. We want more red. And hooray! Here's 'Deep Orange Red' from the late (sob, heave) Seneca Hill.
It's so seriously redder than the species that the the name is too modest. I vote for "Yup, I'm Red All Right. Wadda YOU Gonna Do About It?" But with Seneca Hill in hiatus, where are YOU gonna get it? Perhaps you need to make friends with this great gardener guy I know all about in Rhode Island. Follow his blog even.