FFF447 - TORCH GINGER

Etlingera elatior (also known as Torch Ginger, Ginger Flower, Red Ginger Lily, Torch Lily, Wild Ginger, Combrang, Bunga Kantan, Philippine Wax Flower, Xiang Bao Jiaing, Indonesian Tall Ginger, Boca de Dragón, Rose de Porcelaine, Porcelain Rose) is a species of herbaceous perennial plant. Botanical synonyms include Nicolaia elatior, Phaeomeria magnifica, Nicolaia speciosa, Phaeomeria speciosa, Alpinia elatior, Alpinia magnifica!

The showy pink flowers are used in decorative arrangements while the flower buds are an important ingredient in the Nonya dish laksa. In North Sumatra, the flower buds are used for a dish called arsik ikan mas (Andaliman/Szechuan pepper Spiced Carp). It is known in Indonesian as bunga kecombrang or honje, Malay as bunga kantan and Thai as daalaa.

In Thailand it is eaten in a kind of Thai salad preparation. In Karo, it is known as asam cekala (asam meaning 'sour'), and the flower buds, but more importantly the ripe seed pods, which are packed with small black seeds, are an essential ingredient of the Karo version of sayur asam, and are particularly suited to cooking fresh fish.

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FFF446 - DIANTHUS

Dianthus amurensis is a short-lived perennial dianthus that is similar to Dianthus chinensis except for its perennial habit and purple-pink flowers that are often solitary. It is native to the Amur River region of Siberia. Genus name comes from the Greek words Dios meaning "of Zeus" and anthos meaning flower. Specific epithet means from the Amur River area in eastern Asia.

'Siberian Blue' (frequently sold in commerce as 'Siberian Blues') is an Amur pink cultivar that produces reddish-violet to lavender-blue flowers on stems rising to 30 cm tall over a bushy sprawling mound of lance-shaped green leaves (each to 5 cm long). Flowers bloom solitary or in three-flowered inflorescences. Flowers typically bloom from late spring to frost. This is a striking dianthus that is eye-catching and unusual. The lilac-coloured flowers form a wonderful display in a garden bed or in a rockery.

Amur pinks are short-lived perennials that may be grown from seed. They are best grown in gritty, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Drought tolerant once established. Start seed indoors 6-8 weeks before last spring frost date. Set out seedlings and/or purchased plants 1-2 weeks before last spring frost date. Plantings are less apt to burn out in poorly drained soils or in hot and humid summers than some other species of dianthus. Deadhead spent flowers to prolong bloom. When flowering declines, plants may be sheared to promote additional bloom.

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FFF445 - PINK HYACINTH ORCHID

Dipodium roseum, commonly known as pink hyacinth orchid, in the family Orchidaceae is a leafless mycoheterotrophic orchid found in east and south-eastern Australia. The species was formally described in 1991. The type specimen was collected in Montrose in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges. The species was previously included in a wider circumscription of Dipodium punctatum.

For most of the year, plants are dormant and have no above-ground presence. Below the ground lie fleshy roots. Flower spikes ranging from 30 to 90 cm in height appear between December and April. These racemose inflorescences have 15 to 40 pink flowers with small darker spots. The sepals and petals are strongly recurved and the three-lobed labellum is pink with dark lines and a band of mauve hairs. A rare white-flowering form also exists. 

Pollination of this species, as for all species in the genus, is by native bees and wasps. No leafless species of Dipodium has been sustained in cultivation due to the inability to replicate its association with mycorrhizal fungi in a horticultural context. I.e. it needs the wild underground fungi to nourish it as it has no leaves and cannot photosynthesise.

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FFF444 - ROSA 'PINK INTUITION'

Rosa 'Pink Intuition' is a sport of 'Red Intuition', which was voted International Cut Rose of the Year 2000. Like its sister rose, 'Pink Intuition' is prized for the perfection of its large, perfect, classical Hybrid Tea-shaped flowers, all massed with petals. Tall graceful buds open into blooms, a whirling palette of pinks – bright, rich, magentas slashed with delicate and buoyant pastels – stripes of pinks on pink.

Flowering continually from Spring to late Autumn, stems are laden with bunches of bright, unfading blooms. Long flower stems are ideal for cutting, having an exceptionally long vase life. Flowers do not droop. Blessed with a vigorous growth habit, Pink Intuition thrives in full sun, relishes regular feeding and mulching. Pink Intuition may be planted all the year round. Grows to approximately 150 cm high.

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