What is this plant?

It's a Gaillardia, Womble.
It likes a sunny spot in well drained soil and should keep flowering through to September easily.

thanks for the quick response Louise1. Do you by any chance know how tall they grow? Also do they survive the winter? My reference book doesnt say.

short lived perennial, Womble, in theory, though there are annuals too. Likes sunny, dryish position - I've never yet managed to keep one for more than one season, though we do have heavy, clay soil here.

thanks bamboo. is it possible to take cuttings from this plant so i could have it year after year (well until i fancy a change) without the expense of buying it?

I don't know about cuttings, but you can grow them very easily from seed. I did that 3 years ago and some are still going strong this year.

According to my book, you can take cuttings, though I can't remember what kind or when now!

I had two in my garden a few years ago - one survived for two or three years, dying down to nothing over the winter and then sprouting again the following year, but the other one, after dying back the first year, failed to come back again at all. I love these plants as I love this colour combination, so I might try again! Good luck.

These are sunshine plants Womble so a mulching with pea gravel or something similar in the Winter will help keep the damp off them.

according to one of my books ...
by cuttings of shoots issuing from roots, inserted into sandy soil in cold frame from Aug to OCT.

thanks for all the tips. looks like i will be going back to buy this one then. And another plant to add to my list of plants i would like cuttings of.