FFF161 - HIBISCUS 'ATHENACUS'

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, and shoe flower, is a species of flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae, native to East Asia.

It is widely grown as an ornamental plant throughout the tropics and subtropics. As it does not tolerate temperatures below 10 °C, in temperate regions it is best grown under glass. However, plants in containers may be placed outside during the summer months or moved into shelter during the winter months.Numerous varieties, cultivars, and hybrids are available, with flower colours ranging from white through yellow and orange to scarlet and shades of pink, with both single and double sets of petals. The cultivar 'Cooperi' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Illustrated here is a Flamenco™ Hibiscus 'Athenacus', featuring spectacular long-lasting (4-5 days) large flowers. These varieties have a compact, well branched habit that provides a neat frame for the lush dark green foliage and the many spectacular full blooms that appear continuously during the warmer months.

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FFF160 - INDIGOFERA KIRILOWII

Indigofera is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Species of Indigofera are mostly shrubs, though some are small trees or annual or perennial herbs. Most have pinnate leaves. Racemes of flowers grow in the leaf axils. Most species have flowers in shades of red, but there are a few white- and yellow-flowered species. The fruit is a legume pod of varying size and shape.

Shown here is Indigofera kirilowii (Chinese Indigo), with gracefully arching racemes of pink pea-shaped flowers that make a showy display in the middle of summer; ferny foliage adds fine texture to the landscape. This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your garden. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Chinese Indigo will grow to be about 1.5 m tall at maturity. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 30 cm from the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more. This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided.

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FFF159 - BUTTERFLY BUSH

Butterfly Bush, or to give it its proper name, Clerodendrum myricoides 'Ugandense', is a spectacular plant, especially when the butterfly-shaped flowers cover it. Native to tropical Africa, Butterfly Bush is a sprawling evergreen shrub with a weak upright habit. It grows to 2m to 3 m tall in its native habitat.

From Spring through Autumn the delicate and intricate flowers appear, suggestive of a butterfly in flight. Black, fleshy fruit follows the blooms. It should be planted in part to full (coastal) sun and irrigated regularly. It is hardy to about -7˚C. It can be pruned back continually to keep the plant more compact.

This species from East Africa (originally described from Kenya and not Uganda) will take rather cooler conditions than most tropical clerodendrums. No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for aphids and whitefly.

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FFF158 - CUPHEA VIENCO

Cuphea is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to 2 m tall. Commonly they are known as cupheas, or, in the case of some species, as cigar plants. The generic name is derived from the Greek word κυφος (kyphos), meaning "bent," "curved," or "humped." Several Cuphea species are popular ornamental plants or honey plants. C. ignea 'David Verity' and C. micropetalia are popular plants to attract hummingbirds.

Cuphea Vienco are charming, free-flowering plants with small, smooth green leaves smothered with frilly, vibrant red and purple flowers. Suitable for pots and mixed containers. Bird atracting. The plant copes well in dry conditions. Suitable for full sun or part shade positions. Grows up to 60cm high.

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FFF157 - DIANTHUS DESMOND

Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species (D. repens) in arctic North America. Common names include carnation (D. caryophyllus), pink (D. plumarius and related species) and Sweet William (D. barbatus).

The species are mostly herbaceous perennials, a few are annual or biennial, and some are low subshrubs with woody basal stems. The leaves are opposite, simple, mostly linear and often strongly glaucous grey-green to blue-green. The flowers have five petals, typically with a frilled or pinked margin, and are (in almost all species) pale to dark pink. One species, D. knappii, has yellow flowers with a purple centre. Some species, particularly the perennial pinks, are noted for their strong spicy fragrance.

We have the cultivar Dianthus 'Desmond' growing in our garden and it is an extremely rewarding plant. It is considered by many to be the best red Dianthus. This prolific bloomer bears 5 cm full double blooms that are fragrant all summer. It is accented with silver evergreen foliage, that makes the plant spectacular.

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FFF156 - XEROCHRYSUM

Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia. Described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1803, it was known as Helichrysum bracteatum for many years before being transferred to a new genus Xerochrysum in 1990.

It grows as a woody or herbaceous perennial or annual shrub up to a metre tall with green or grey leafy foliage. Golden yellow or white flower heads are produced from spring to autumn; their distinctive feature is the papery bracts that resemble petals. The species is widespread, growing in a variety of habitats across the country, from rainforest margins to deserts and subalpine areas.

The golden everlasting serves as food for various larvae of lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), and adult butterflies, hoverflies, native bees, small beetles and grasshoppers visit the flower heads. The golden everlasting has proven very adaptable to cultivation. It was propagated and developed in Germany in the 1850s, and annual cultivars in a host of colour forms from white to bronze to purple flowers became available. Many of these are still sold in mixed seed packs. In Australia, many cultivars are perennial shrubs, which have become popular garden plants. Sturdier, long-stemmed forms are used commercially in the cut flower industry.

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FFF155 - SPARRIESHOOP ROSE

The Sparrieshoop rose was bred by Reimer Kordes (Germany, 1953). It is a shrub rose producing many light pink blooms with a strong fragrance. The flowers are single with five petals, have long pointed buds, and an average diameter of 10 cm. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. A bushy, climbing, upright rose with dark green, leathery foliage. Height of 150 to 305 cm, width of 120 to 275 cm. This type of rose can be hopped to produce even more ample flowering.

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FFF154 - AUSTRALIAN BLUEBELL

Wahlenbergia stricta, or Australian Bluebell, Tall or Austral Bluebell, is an Australian wildflower from the Campanulaceae family. It is considered the most commonly encountered of the Wahlenbergias] It is found in all Australian states but not the Northern Territory.

It is often seen growing by the side of the road, enjoying the extra runoff. W. stricta is a perennial herb flowering mainly in spring or summer with pale blue bell-like flowers. The leaves are long and linear, 5–70 millimetres (0.20–2.76 in) long. The five-petalled flowers are erect on long, slender stems and about 6–20 millimetres (0.24–0.79 in) in diameter. It forms thin, carrot shaped tubers.

Australian bluebells are generally easily propagated by division or root cutting. The seed is a very fine, black powder. It germinates readily in a few weeks and is best directly sown into tubes or cells as the seed and plant are very small and hard to separate and prick out.

There are a number of common cultivars, including various shades of blue from a saturated blue similar to #00f through to white. Various double forms are available. To maintain a cultivar propagation must be by vegetative means (division or cuttings). Once established W. stricta is very hardy - the pot can be dried out completely and the plant reduced to a tuber, yet it will reshoot when the rain comes. It is hardy in a range of soils from sand to gravel, clay to humus.

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FFF153 - SALVIA DISCOLOR

Salvia discolor (Andean sage) is a herbaceous perennial growing in a very localised area in Peru—it is equally rare in horticulture and in its native habitat. William Robinson wrote of its charms in 1933. The plant is scandent, meaning that it climbs without the use of tendrils, with wiry white stems growing from its base. Mistletoe-green leaves of various sizes grow in pairs about 1-2 in apart on the stem, with the undersides covered in white hairs.

The leaves, stem and flower buds all exhibit a strong and distinct odour of blackcurrant. The 1 in long deeply saturated dark purple/blue (almost black) flowers are held in a pistachio-green calyx, growing on 1 ft or longer inflorescences. The stems of the inflorescences are shiny and covered with glands, which frequently have insects stuck to them. It blooms during hot spells through summer and autumn and is a frequently grown ornamental on the French and Italian Rivieras, where it grows 1 metre high and wide. It has begun to appear as an ornamental in Melbourne gardens, now.

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FFF152 - BLUEBERRY FLOWERS

Blueberries are perennial flowering plants with indigo-colored berries from the section Cyanococcus within the genus Vaccinium (a genus that also includes cranberries and bilberries). Species in the section Cyanococcus are the most common fruits sold as "blueberries" and are native to North America (commercially cultivated highbush blueberries were not introduced into Europe until the 1930s).

Blueberries are usually erect. Prostrate shrubs can vary in size from 10 centimeters to 4 meters in height. In the commercial production of blueberries, the smaller species are known as "low-bush blueberries" (synonymous with "wild"), while the larger species are known as "high-bush blueberries". The leaves can be either deciduous or evergreen, ovate to lanceolate, and 1–8 cm long and 0.5–3.5 cm broad.

The flowers are bell-shaped, white, pale pink or red, sometimes tinged greenish. The fruit is a berry 5–16 millimeters in diameter with a flared crown at the end; they are pale greenish at first, then reddish-purple, and finally dark purple when ripe. They are covered in a protective coating of powdery epicuticular wax, colloquially known as the "bloom". They have a sweet taste when mature, with variable acidity. Blueberry bushes typically bear fruit in the middle of the growing season: Fruiting times are affected by local conditions such as altitude and latitude, so the peak of the crop can vary from May to August depending upon these conditions.

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