Yes Janice, Picture 2, 'Nora Leigh', a fabulous garden phlox.
That helenium is a bit of a mystery.
I keep pretty meticulous records on what i plant, especially in our own garden.
I planted Helenium 'Feuersiegel' on that spot in 2007, but never noticed any trace of it in the years after that.
Most of the perennials I subsequently planted around that spot are long dead.
That helenium looks very similar to some on-line pictures of 'Feuersiegel'.
Lucy, it's a helenium.
I'm pretty sure, for several reasons, that it's 'Sonnenwunder'.
Of the Rudbeckias, I tend to rely on 'Goldsturm' and now also 'Little Goldstar', both very hardy perennials here.
