Hesperantha coccinea 'Major'

For the RHS course I'm doing, we have 10 plant names to learn each week and this was one of them. 

I sometimes make up stories to help me memorise the names - 'coccinea' was easy because it sounds like 'coccinelle' which means 'ladybird' in French. And 'hesperantha'  reminded me of 'esperanza' which means 'hope' in Spanish.

They had a few plants at the horticultural unit so I picked two, one for our back garden and one for the plot, which I planted by the pond last week.

As understated as hesperanthas look, with their tiny stems and delicate flowers, plants that are still standing upright and producing pretty flowers in the darker late autumn days are definitely hopeful!