I tend to have plants with similar leaves along side, eg crocosmia, gladioli, hemerocallis. having said that I do have aconites and jap anemones in another area that do the job for me.

Geraniums such as G `wargraves pink` or `johnsons blue`are quite good for this purpose. I also use hardy fuchsias (madame cornellisen, Mrs popple, genii, for instance) but where you live, they may be a bit later starting into growth than they are here in the south.

SBG; Thanks for getting back to me. I have some Hemerocallis, so could use some of that. I'd already been thinking about Crocosmia, I fancy Lucifer, so looks like we're thinking on the same lines. Gladies, take quite a while to come through here, so wouldn't work, but plants with similar leaves is a great idea.

Bamboo; Thanks for the tip, I like the idea of Geraniums, so I'll look out for them in the GC. I have the very Fuchisas you mention I have in my front garden and you're right, they do start a bit late...but worth considering.

G byzantine are an earlier flowering form, well in my garden they are, usually out May/June. I also have ferns that do a similar job now that I sit and think about it.

Thanks SBG, looks like I'll be forced to visit my local GC again oh dear, lol!