The rules for posting are simple!

1. Every Friday post a photo that includes one or more flowers.
2. Please only post photos you have authority to use.
3. Include a link to this blog in your post - http://floralfridayfoto.blogspot.com/
4. Leave the link to your FloralFridayFoto post below on inlinkz.
5. Visit other blogs listed ... comment & enjoy!

When to Post:
inlinkz will be available every Thursday and will remain open until the next Wednesday.

Thursday 25 February 2021

FFF482 - SCARBOROUGH LILY

Cyrtanthus elatus, the Scarborough lily, is a bulbous flowering plant which originates from the Cape Province of South Africa. Other common names are Vallotta lily, fire lily and George lily. Cultivars of the Scarborough lily have flowers which may be bright red, orange, yellow, or occasionally pink or white.

The stems can grow to a height of 0.61 m. They are relatively easy to grow in a warm, sheltered, frost-free spot. Alternatively, they can be grown under glass in pots. They require either full sun or slight shade. They flower in late summer or early autumn. The Latin specific epithet elatus means “tall”. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

Plant Vallota Lilies in a permanent position as they tend to sulk if they are moved. They grow well in the ground and in pots. Otherwise, these fabulous plants perform year after year. They are easy to grow, and even those without a green thumb easily manage to keep them alive and flowering again and again!

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Thursday 18 February 2021

FFF481 - SCHIZANTHUS

Schizanthus also called butterfly flower, fringeflower, poor-man's-orchid, is a genus of plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. They are annual or biennial herbaceous plants, with attractive flowers and they belong to the subfamily Schizanthoideae of the Solanaceae. The genus includes species native to Chile and Argentina, many species are adventitious in other parts of the world such as New Zealand and the United States.

Plant the seedlings in rich, well-drained soil where they will get morning sun and afternoon shade. Poor man’s orchid is a relatively rapid grower, and will soon reach its full height of 40 cm, branching out into a fluffy bush. While poor man’s orchids do well in shaded beds, they thrive in planters, hanging pots and indoor windows. Place them where they will receive cool breezes and morning sun, then move the pots to a shaded spot in the afternoon. Wait until the soil is almost dry before watering each time, as the roots are subject to rot if they stay too moist.

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Thursday 11 February 2021

FFF480 - DITTANY OF CRETE

Origanum dictamnus (dittany of Crete, Cretan dittany or hop marjoram), known in Greek as δίκταμο (díktamo, cf. “dittany”) or in Cretan dialect έρωντας (erondas, “love”), is a tender perennial plant in the Lamiaceae family that grows 20–30 cm high. It is a healing, therapeutic and aromatic plant that only grows wild on the mountainsides and gorges of the Greek island of Crete, Greece.

Dittany of Crete is widely used for food flavouring and medicinal purposes, and is also found as an ornamental plant in gardens. This small, lanate shrub is easily recognised by the distinctive soft, woolly covering of white-grey hair on its stems and round green leaves, giving it a velvety texture. Tiny rose-pink flowers surrounded by brighter purple-pink bracts add an exuberant splash of colour to the plant in summer and autumn. Dittany is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plant Species 1997.

Origanum dictamnus is a many branched plant with discoid to ovate, grey-green leaves that are sited in pairs opposite each other. The slender arching stems and lanate leaves are covered in a velvety white down and are 13–25 mm in size. The flowers are pale pink to purple and have a deep lilac corolla with many deep pink-coloured overlapping bracts. The colourful flowers forming a cascade of elongated clusters are in bloom in the summer months and are quite a pretty sight in the rocky mountains of their native land. The flowers are hermaphrodite, meaning they have both male and female organs, and are pollinated by bees attracted to their scent and bright colour. The primary ingredients of the herb’s essential oil are carvacrol (68.96%), β-phellandrene (18.34%) and p-cymene (4.68%).

The herb symbolises love and is reputed to be an aphrodisiac. Traditionally, only the most ardent young lovers would scramble on mountainsides and go into the deep gorges of Crete gathering bunches of the pink blooms to present as love tokens. There are numerous deaths reported throughout the centuries by collectors of this magical herb. Even in recent times, the collection of dittany of Crete was a very dangerous occupation for the men who risked life and limb to climb precarious rock faces where the plant grows wild in the mountains of Crete. They were named erondádhes (“love-seekers”) and were considered very brave and passionate men to go to such dangerous lengths to collect the herb.

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Thursday 4 February 2021

FFF479 - SANVITALIA

The creeping zinnias (genus Sanvitalia) are four or five species belonging to the family Asteraceae and native to Southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, South America, Northwest China (Province Xin Jiang). The original descriptions of this genus was by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck using samples provided by "M. Gualteri". The variety pictured here is called "Irish Eyes".

Sanvitalia prefers full sun but will adapt to partial shade with less flowering. It is tolerant of most garden conditions. Plant outdoors when all danger of frost has passed and the soil is warm. Space plants 15-20 cm apart. Sow seeds in place when ground has warmed. For earlier bloom, start indoors four to six weeks before outdoor planting. Seeds germinate in 10 to 15 days. Use it as an edging for the front of borders, along sidewalks and paths, and in rock gardens. Sanvitalia trails well from containers.

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