I grew all these flowering plants this year sown directly in place from seed. I didn’t have them arranged in a border. But they would make a splendid border for mid to late summer bloom in climatic zone 6 of midwestern north america.
In the back of the border; the Orange flowering Tithonia rotundifolia (Torch sunflower) and the pendulous red Amaranthus (chenille dreadlocks)
moving forward to the next layer would be; Cleome Violet Queen, Pink Okinawa Okra, and Crimson Nicotiana (flowering tobacco)
moving toward the next layer would be; Red and Yellow Mirabilis jalapa (Marvel of Peru i.e. 4 O’Clocks)
in the front row; Red Celosia (Chinese Wool flower)
These are TALL plants. You will not find these as bedding plants in the garden centers. They grow best from directly planted seed.
Since they are TALL they will require some architectural structure to keep them upright as they become heavy with bloom. My Tithonia and Amaranthus are supported with T-posts and cross members. For beauty sake, some more attractive support would be ideal.
These plants do not have any serious pests once they get to be a few inches tall. I did have a problem with rabbit predation of the juvenile plants. Other than that – all good.
Gardenpoiesis: Adventures of a Naturalist 