FFF283 - AZURE SAGE

Salvia azurea, the azure blue sage, azure sage, blue sage or prairie sage, is a herbaceous perennial in the genus Salvia, family Lamiaceae, that is native to Central and Eastern North America.

Its thin, upright stems can grow to 1.8 m tall, with narrow, pointed, smooth-edged to serrated, furry to smooth green leaves, connected to their stems by petioles to 1.0 cm long. There are no basal leaves. The blue flowers (rarely white), nearly 6.4 to 12.7 mm

The blue (rarely white), flowers  nearly 6.4 to 12.7 mm long, appear summer to autumn near the ends of their branched or unbranched spikes; their calyxes are tubular or bell-shaped and furry. Two varieties are Salvia azurea var. azurea (azure sage) and Salvia azurea var. grandiflora (pitcher sage). It is found on the wild on roadsides, glades, fields and pastures.

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FFF282 - ROSA 'HOME RUN'

Rosa 'Home Run' (Home Run® Rosa x 'WEKcisbako' USPP 18,552) is easily the best true-red rose with continuous blooms and top level disease resistance to both black spot and powdery mildew. It has a high level of tolerance to downy mildew as well. Plus it's heat tolerant, cold hardy and requires no deadheading.

It prefers full sun, and will grow to 1-1.5 metres in height and width in your landscape. It is hardy in zones 4-9 and will bring wonderful colour to your garden for years. You still have time to plant it this autumn, trim to shape comes spring, then simply sit back and enjoy. Like its father (Knock Out), Home Run has excellent resistance to black spot. Unlike Knock Out, Home Run is also completely resistant to powdery mildew and has a higher level of tolerance to downy mildew as well.

It is a useful in mass plantings and mixed borders. A very low-maintenance yet colourful plant for sunny areas. Little care is needed, with a trim to shape in spring, and application of a controlled release fertiliser. This rose does not need deadheading or winter protection. Prefers moist, well-drained soil.

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FFF281 - ANGAHOOK FINGERS

Caladenia maritima, commonly known as coastal fingers or Angahook pink fingers, is a species of orchid (family Orchidaceae)endemic to Victoria. It has a single, almost hairless leaf and one or white flowers with greenish backs and only occurs in the coastal district of Anglesea, Victoria, Australia.

Caladenia maritima is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single, almost glabrous, linear leaf, 60–150 mm long and 1–3 mm wide. One or two white flowers 20–25 mm long and wide are borne on a stalk 100–200 mm tall. The backs of the sepals and petals are greenish with a dark line along the centre. The dorsal sepal is erect, sometimes curving backwards and is 10–15 mm long and 2–3 mm wide. The lateral sepals are 13–17 mm long, 4–5 mm wide and spreading. The petals are 13–15 mm  long and 4–5 mm wide and arranged like the lateral sepals. The labellum is 7–9 mm long, 5–8 mm wide and white with purple lines and blotches. The tip of the labellum is orange and curled under. The sides of the labellum have a few narrow teeth near the tip and there are two short rows of yellow or white calli in the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs from September to October.

This orchid was first described in 1999 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Anglesea and the description was published in The Orchadian. The specific epithet (maritima) is a Latin word meaning "of the sea". Coastal fingers occurs near Anglesea in a single population, growing in woodland with a heathy understorey. Caladenia maritima is not classified under the Victorian Government Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 or under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 but has been listed as "endangered" in Victoria according to the Advisory List of Rare or Threatened Vascular Plants in Victoria – 2004.

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FFF280 - YUCCA

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry (arid) parts of North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Early reports of the species were confused with the cassava (Manihot esculenta). Consequently, Linnaeus mistakenly derived the generic name from the Taíno word for the latter, yuca (spelt with a single "c"). It is also colloquially known in the Midwest United States as "ghosts in the graveyard", as it is commonly found growing in rural graveyards and when in bloom the cluster of (usually pale) flowers on a thin stalk appear as floating apparitions.

Native American tribes used the plant extensively: They ate the flowers, stalks and fruits, used the fibrous, spiky leaves for cordage, and mashed the pulpy root with water for soap.You do need to watch for ants and other critters in the flowers, as the nectar is irresistible to them, and there is a particular moth that pollinates yucca in return for depositing its larvae on the flowers; larvae are not good eats. But the grubs are rarely on the petals, and it is only the petals you eat.

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