FFF 108 - KING PROTEA

The king protea (Protea cynaroides) is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of Protea, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa in the fynbos region.The king protea is the national flower of South Africa. It also is the flagship of the The Protea Atlas Project, run by the South African National Botanical Institute.

The king protea has several colour forms and horticulturists have recognised 81 garden varieties, some of which have injudiciously been planted in its natural range. In some varieties the pink of the flower and red borders of leaves are replaced by a creamy yellow. This unusual flower has a long vase life in flower arrangements, and makes for an excellent dried flower. Protea cynaroides is adapted to survive wildfires by its thick underground stem, which contains many dormant buds; these will produce the new growth after the fire.

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FFF107 - CHRISTMAS ROSE

Commonly known as hellebores, members of the genus Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. Many species are poisonous. Despite names such as "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose", hellebores are not closely related to the rose family (Rosaceae).

The genus is native to much of Europe, from western Great Britain, Spain and Portugal, eastward across the Mediterranean region and central Europe into Romania and Ukraine, and along the north coast of Turkey into the Caucasus. The greatest concentration of species occurs in the Balkans. One atypical species (H. thibetanus) comes from western China; another atypical species (H. vesicarius) inhabits a small area on the border between Turkey and Syria.

The flowers have five "petals" (actually sepals) surrounding a ring of small, cup-like nectaries (petals modified to hold nectar). The sepals do not fall as petals would, but remain on the plant, sometimes for many months. Recent research in Spain suggests that the persistence of the sepals contributes to the development of the seeds.

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FFF106 - AMBRIDGE ROSE

The 'Ambridge Rose'  (David Austin. 1990) is an old-fashioned rose borne on an attractive bush, about one metre tall.  It has beautiful soft, apricot pink, fragrant flowers that bloom Repeatedly. This is one of two ('Fair Bianca' is the other) of Oprah's favourite roses for her bedside table.  The apricot pink rosettes have a deliciously strong rose fragrance and the medium size blooms with 50-100 petals bloom repeatedly on a medium size bushy plant with medium green coloured foliage.

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FFF105 - SCARLET PIMPERNEL

Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), also known as red pimpernel, red chickweed, poorman's barometer, poor man's weather-glass, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock, is a low-growing annual plant. The native range of the species is Europe and Western and North Africa. The species has been distributed widely by humans, either deliberately as an ornamental flower or accidentally.

A. arvensis is now naturalised almost worldwide, with a range that encompasses The Americas, Central and East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Malaysia, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and Southern Africa. Although traditionally included in the family Primulaceae, the genus Anagallis is now considered to be better placed within the related family Myrsinaceae. In the APG III system, Primulaceae is expanded to include Myrsinaceae, thus Anagallis is in Primulaceae sensu lato.This common European plant is generally considered a weed and is an indicator of light soils.

It is most well known for being the emblem of the fictional hero "The Scarlet Pimpernel", a novel written by the Baroness Emma Orczy.

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FFF104 - BORAGE

Borage (Borago officinalis), also known as a starflower, is an annual herb. It is native to the Mediterranean region and has naturalised in many other locales. It grows satisfactorily in gardens in Australia, remaining in the garden from year to year by self-seeding. The leaves are edible and the plant is grown in gardens for that purpose in some parts of Europe. The plant is also commercially cultivated for borage seed oil extracted from its seeds.

Vegetable use of borage is common in Germany, in the Spanish regions of Aragón and Navarra, in the Greek island of Crete and in the northern Italian region of Liguria. Although often used in soups, one of the better known German borage recipes is the Green Sauce (Grüne Soße) made in Frankfurt. In Italian Liguria, borage is commonly used as a filling of the traditional pasta ravioli and pansoti.

The leaves and flowers were originally used in Pimms before being replaced by mint or cucumber peel. It is used to flavour pickled gherkins in Poland. It is also one of the key "botanical" flavourings in Gilpin's Westmorland Extra Dry Gin. In Iran people make tea for the relief of colds, flu, bronchitis, rheumatoid arthritis and kidney inflammations. People with heart problems can benefit using the borage tea in moderate amounts.

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FFF103 - GAZANIA

Gazania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to Southern Africa. They produce large, daisy-like composite flowers in brilliant shades of pink, maroon, yellow, orange and cream, over a long period in summer. They are often planted as drought-tolerant groundcover.

Most Gazania species and cultivars are low-growing, near-evergreen, clump-forming or carpeting plants. They quickly develop into small clumps of narrow lance-shaped leaves that can be downy and lobed near the base, often with lighter coloured undersides. Their showy flowers, which appear throughout the warmer months, are large, brightly coloured, often interestingly marked, and the ray florets tend to be darker at the base, with a contrastingly coloured central disc. The species usually have yellow or orange flowers, but the garden forms are available in a wide colour range.

Most gazanias tolerate very little frost and dislike wet winters, but they are otherwise easily grown in any sunny position with light, gritty, well-drained soil. They thrive in coastal gardens. Plants should be deadheaded frequently to encourage flower production. Annuals are propagated from seed; the perennials may also be divided or can be grown from basal cuttings.

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FFF102 - NIGELLA

Nigella damascena (love-in-a-mist, ragged lady) is an annual garden flowering plant, belonging to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is native to southern Europe (but adventive in more northern countries of Europe), north Africa and southwest Asia, where it is found on neglected, damp patches of land.

The specific epithet damascena relates to Damascus in Syria. The plant's common name comes from the flower being nestled in a ring of multifid, lacy bracts. It is also sometimes called devil-in-the-bush.

It grows to 20–50 cm (8–20 in) tall, with pinnately divided, thread-like, alternate leaves. The flowers, blooming in early summer, are most commonly different shades of blue, but can be white, pink, or pale purple, with 5 to 25 sepals. The actual petals are located at the base of the stamens and are minute and clawed. The sepals are the only coloured part of the perianth. The seed capsule becomes brown in late summer. The plant self-seeds, growing on the same spot year after year.

This easily-grown plant has been a familiar subject in English cottage gardens since Elizabethan times, admired for its ferny foliage, spiky flowers and bulbous seed-heads. It is now widely cultivated throughout the temperate world, and numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use. The related Nigella sativa (and not N. damascena) is the source of the spice variously known as nigella, kalonji or black cumin.

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