FFF682 - GLADIOLUS 'PURPLE FLORA'

Gladiolus 'Purple Flora' is a hybrid variety featuring deep purple/violet florets that crowd the tall, strong stems. They make sensational cut flowers and are perfect for a big floral show. The elegant spires of ruffled blooms provide an indulgent explosion of fantastic summer colour.

Gladiolus are economical, easy to grow bulbs that love the Australian sun. They are hardy and reliable flowers and can be easily timed for a succession of vibrant, towering summer colour. A trick of the trade is to plant your Gladioli bulbs in batches over a few weeks. This will extend the flowering show. When planting in warm weather allow 90 days to flower and cooler weather 120 days.

It is a good idea to ensure you plant your gladioli bulbs deeply enough (around 10cm), this will reduce the need for staking. Gladioli like a sunny position and you need to ensure you keep them moist when they are in flower for best results. Hold off planting until after the threat of frost has passed.

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FFF667 - IRIS

Iris is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the ancient Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris, referring to the wide variety of flower colours found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species, though some plants called thus belong to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture.

Irises are popular garden flowers and their blossoms provide wonderful splashes of colour in the Spring garden. The genus is widely distributed throughout the north temperate zone. Their habitats are varied, ranging from cold and montane regions to the grassy slopes, meadowlands and riverbanks of Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa, Asia and across North America. Irises are perennial herbs, growing from creeping rhizomes (rhizomatous irises) or, in drier climates, from bulbs (bulbous irises).

They have long, erect flowering stems which may be simple or branched, solid or hollow, and flattened or have a circular cross-section. The rhizomatous species usually have 3–10 basal sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps. The bulbous species have cylindrical, basal leaves.

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FFF666 - BABIANA

Babiana  is a genus of geophytes in the family Iridaceae with 93 recognized species as of March 2022. The leaves consist of a stalk and a blade that are at an angle to each other. The leaf blades are entire, laterally flattened and pleated, and often hairy. Each individual flower is subtended by two hairy or smooth bracts that are green in most species. The outer bract is often the largest of the two.

Each flower is without a pedicel, with six tepals that are merged at their base into a tube and form a perianth that is mirror-symmetrical in most species, with three anthers implanted where the perianth tube widens and that are, in almost every species, clustered at one side of the style. The style has three branches that widen towards the tip and the ovary is inferior. Flowers occur in almost every conceivable colour, many have markings on some of the tepals, and few star-symmetrical flowers have a centre that strongly contrasts with the free part of the perianth.

The majority of these species are endemic to the west and southwest of South Africa, and southwestern Namibia, but one species occurs elsewhere in Namibia and South Africa and another species can be found in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the Chacma baboon, Papio ursinus, that consumes the corms of plants in the genus. The genus is called bobbejaantjie in Afrikaans, meaning small baboon.

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FFF587 - IXIA

The genus Ixia consists of a number of cormous plants native to South Africa from the Iridaceae family and Ixioideae subfamily. Some of them are known as the corn lily. Some distinctive traits include sword-like leaves and long wiry stems with star-shaped flowers. The plants usually prefer well-drained soil. The popular corn lily has specific, not very intense fragrance. It is often visited by many insects such as bees. The Ixia are also used as ornamental plants and cut flowers.

Ixia viridiflora, also known as "Turquoise Ixia", is a tall member of the genus Ixia. It comes from around the Tulbagh in South Africa, Cape Province. It has small corms under the ground. This corn lily is a very rare plant. Its habitats are often destroyed by human influence so the conservation status of this interesting flower is vulnerable and is tending to worse.

The plant gets the name "Turquoise Ixia" from the really spectacular blue-green turquoise colour of the flowers, which is a rare colour for flowers. They are grouped in long inflorescences and are traditionally star-shaped like in most corn lilies. They have a black-purple centre. The ovary is 3-locular. This flower is pollinated by specific scarab beetles known as monkey beetles of the tribe Hopliini. The Turquoise Ixia has very good ornamental traits with its beautiful inflorescences but is very rare in cultivation because of its conservation status.

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FFF578 - SUMMER BOUQUET

A Summer bouquet of flowers from our garden. There are roses, daisies, feverfew, coreopsis, lantana, geranium, crocosmia, statice, and jasmine.

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FFF570 - BLUE-EYED GRASS

Sisyrinchium angustifolium ‘Devon Skies’ has stars of lovely, rich, sky-blue, flowers that bloom continuously through summer. The flowers sit thickly above compact little tufts of Iris-like foliage (the plant is in the Iridaceae family). Sisyrinchium angustifolium ‘Devon Skies’ makes a perfect edging for a sunny garden bed. Or you may choose to fill a decorative pot with attractive evergreen foliage and blue summer flowers.

The plant forms upright spires to 25cm over summer and autumn. It has neat, formal foliage clump with diameter of approx. 25cm. It should be planted in sun to partial shade and will tolerate heat and dry spells well, once established. However, please note flowers need light to open (they close at night). The plant will tolerate a wide variety of soils, from sandy to clay, gravel to heavy, acid pH to alkaline lime. Permanently waterlogged soils are not suitable, but it copes well with sandy and also seaside locations. It is a very water-wise plant, and actually enjoys to dry out between waterings. It is an evergreen perennial.

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FFF566 - IRIS

Iris is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the ancient Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris, referring to the wide variety of flower colours found among the many species. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also very widely used as a common name for all Iris species, though some plants called thus belong to other closely related genera. A common name for some species is 'flags', while the plants of the subgenus Scorpiris are widely known as 'junos', particularly in horticulture.

Irises are popular garden flowers and their blossoms provide wonderful splashes of colour in the Spring garden. The genus is widely distributed throughout the north temperate zone. Their habitats are varied, ranging from cold and montane regions to the grassy slopes, meadowlands and riverbanks of Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa, Asia and across North America. Irises are perennial herbs, growing from creeping rhizomes (rhizomatous irises) or, in drier climates, from bulbs (bulbous irises).

They have long, erect flowering stems which may be simple or branched, solid or hollow, and flattened or have a circular cross-section. The rhizomatous species usually have 3–10 basal sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps. The bulbous species have cylindrical, basal leaves.

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FFF489 - BABIANA

Babiana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae composed of about 80 recognised species. The majority of these species are endemic to the Cape Provinces of South Africa, especially Namaqualand, as well Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the Chacma baboon Papio ursinus, that consumes the corms of plants in the genus. The specific epithet stricta means "erect, upright".

Babiana stricta (baboon flower, blue freesia) is widely cultivated as an ornamental and has been naturalised in Australia. Growing 10–30 cm tall by 5 cm broad, it is a cormous perennial with hairy leaves 10-20 cm long. The leaves show linear venation. There are many hybrids and cultivars with different coloured flowers, usually blue, mauve or pink with white additions. In mid- to late spring, each flowering stem produces six or more blooms, each to 5 cm across. They are grouped in an inflorescence and often have a pleasant lemon scent. The seeds are black with a hard coat, collected in round seed capsules.

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FFF442 - WINTRY BOUQUET

I guess we are fortunate in Melbourne as our Winters are never heavy, with the seasonal cold and rain quite tolerable. If it snows in the City it is first page news, so we're lucky there too. This generally means that whatever the season, fresh flowers are available locally (even if some of them have been forced to blossom - the Spring bulbs, for example).

This wintry bouquet has violet-coloured Dutch irises (Iris × hollandica), creamy white Alstroemeria (Alstroemeria × hybrida), and orange-pink Asiatic lilies (Asiatic lilies - Lilium asiaticum).

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FFF366 - DIETES

Dietes bicolor (variously known as African iris or fortnight lily) is a clump-forming rhizomatous perennial plant with long sword-like pale-green leaves, growing from multiple fans at the base of the clump. This species belongs to the Iridaceae (Iris) family. It can form large clumps if left undisturbed for years.

This species is common in horticulture in its native South Africa, where it is often used in public gardens, beautification of commercial premises and along roadsides. The blooms are yellow with three dark purple spots, each surrounded by an orange outline, and are followed by a capsule that may bend the flower stalks to the ground. Ripe seeds (dark brown in colour) are dispersed when the capsule dries and splits. The leaves of Dietes bicolor are narrower than those of Dietes grandiflora and Dietes iridioides, and tend to arch more.

Some species of Dietes are considered "environmental weeds" in parts of Australia, particularly Western Australia, Queensland, and Lord Howe Island.

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FFF253 - SPARAXIS

Sparaxis (harlequin flower) is a genus in the family Iridaceae with about 13 species endemic to Cape Province, South Africa. All are perennials that grow during the wet winter season, flower in spring and survive underground as dormant corms over summer. Their conspicuous flowers have six tepals, which in most species are equal in size and shape. The genus name is derived from the Greek word sparasso, meaning "to tear", and alludes to the shape of the floral bracts.

Sparaxis tricolor, known by the common names wandflower, harlequin flower, and sparaxis, is a bulb-forming perennial plant that grows in well-drained sunny soil. It gained its name from its colourful flowers which are bi- or tri-coloured with a golden centre and a small ring of brown surrounded by another colour. Although the plant is native to southern Africa. It is present in California and Australia as an introduced species after having escaped from garden cultivation.

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FFF145 - DIETES

Dietes is a genus of rhizomatous plants of the family Iridaceae. Common names include Fortnight lily, African iris, Morea or Moraea iris, Japanese iris and Butterfly iris, each of which may be used differently in different regions for one or more of the four species within the genus. Most species are native to southern Africa, with one (Dietes robinsoniana) native to Lord Howe Island off the coast of Australia.

The genus name is derived from the Greek words di-, meaning "two", and etes, meaning "affinities". The photo below is showing Dietes grandiflora, a common garden plant in Australia, often seen in mass plantings on road reserves and traffic island plantations.

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FFF58 - CAMEO WINE IRIS

This tall bearded  iris, from the family Iridaceae, is the cultivar Iris "Cameo Wine", hybridised by B. Blyth. The year of introduction was 1982. The plant is sterile and will not set seed, but is easily propagated by planting small pieces of the tuberous roots. It does well in full sun or sun to partial-shade and it should be watered regularly, but not over-watered. It flowers in early summer.

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FFF56 - YELLOW FLAG

Iris pseudacorus (yellow flag, yellow iris, water flag) is a species in the genus Iris, of the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet, meaning "false acorus," refers to the similarity of its leaves to those of Acorus calamus, as they have a prominently veined mid-rib and sword-like shape.

It is a herbaceous flowering perennial plant, growing to 1-1.5 m (or a rare 2 m) tall, with erect leaves up to 90 cm long and 3 cm broad. The flowers are bright yellow, 7-10 cm across, with the typical iris form. The fruit is a dry capsule 4-7 cm long, containing numerous pale brown seeds. Iris pseudacorus grows best in very wet conditions, and is often common in wetlands, where it tolerates submersion, low pH, and anoxic soils. The plant spreads quickly, by both rhizome and water-dispersed seed. It fills a similar niche to that of Typha and often grows with it, though usually in shallower water. While it is primarily an aquatic plant, the rhizomes can survive prolonged dry conditions.

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