Red Hot Poker Flower

Photo of a Red Hot Poker Flower

This flower originates from South Africa. I can't ever recall seeing them in the U.S. but they are a very common garden flower in my native New Zealand. This photo of a red hot poker flower was in fact taken on a recent trip home to New Zealand. The flower sits atop a lot stalk and is darker red the closer you get to the top. You can see why it's called a "red hot poker". I like the color palette in the background of this photo; it contains some very complimentary colors.