The long, hot, dry summer has turned many of our gardens to brown, crispy shadows of their former selves, earlier than anticipated. A nice job to do now, while there are still a good many days of relatively warm weather up until the frosts next month, is to inject a slice of colour in pockets around your plot, which will liven the whole scene up immensely. Going in here are a few plants of Amaranthus tricolor, the Chinese amaranth, a tender bedding plant that will look great for a few weeks yet, or you can pick out your own selection from your local nursery.