Guess the plant?

[Mitzimaybe]

This is probably going to annoy everyone because I haven't got a photo. My dad had a plant in his garden that I liked, but don't know what it was. He didn't know either (he tended to be given things or buy them on spec and he couldn't remember where he got it from.) Mum didn't like it and has got her gardener to get rid of it (without my knowledge; I'd have had it!) I'd love to get one for my own garden.

So, here goes:

• Herbaceous perennial
• Hardy
• About 4 foot tall
• Very upright, a single tall stem coming up from the ground. There was a clump of them but I don't know it was one plant branching at ground level or several individual plants with one stem each.
• Flowers were red, above the leaves, on the same stem, i.e. the stem had leaves up to about 3 foot then flowers above that. Flowers single, widely spaced, all around the stem. May have been hooded, unfortunately I don't have a photographic memory.
• Leaves - as far as I can remember, slightly succulent-y looking, but not shiny
• Not a lobelia, as far as I can tell from an online image search

If it helps anyone, I also saw these plants in an ornamental garden of Kensington Palace last summer.

I'm afraid I have to post and run but I'll come back on later to answer any questions.

Kniphofia?

lol to 'not a lobelia'
Could be a dahlia?
What time of year did they flower?

flowers like this?

Thanks for the ideas. K Kniphofia is a logical suggestion from my description but the leaves are more rounded not grassy our spiky. Well not rounded exactly but more than that.

The flowers aren't o pen like a Dahlia or the linked image, they're more tubular.

Sorry fore typos, am on crappy phone.

That sounds quite tall, have you looked at hollyhocks, lupins and delphiniums, which all come in different colours.

try googling valerium, gladioli, autumn crocus.

By 'not a lobelia' I assume you mean the everlasting lobelia which is tall and red?

Can you remember what time of year of flowered?

Sorry if some of these sound basic, not sure what gardening level you are! (having just seen a request on another thread to identify a buttercup, I don't like to assume either way)

whoops I mean perennial lobelia

Oh how about this
red plant

unfortunately it doesn't have a name as it is a photographers website, I recognise it but don't know what it is called, I am sure others will.

Some more good, suggestions, thank you.
The picture you've linked is a canna (Indian shot) and is a really good shout, but unfortunately not right.

They flowered late summer, August-ish.

I think I've answered my own question and misled you all - it is a lobelia after all.

Previously I'd only looked at lobelia cardinalis, lobelia fulgens and lobelia speciosa, and it wasn't any of those. Now I've seen lobelia tupa and that's it!

This one looks a bit smaller but it's definitely the same plant:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lobelia_tupa_form.jpg

Thanks very much to everyone who made suggestions; I really do appreciate it.