FFF54 - SCABIOUS

Scabiosa is a genus in the teasel Family Dipsacaceae of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious; however some plants commonly known as scabious are currently classified in related genera such as Knautia and Succisa; at least some of these were formerly placed in Scabiosa. Another common name for members of this genus is pincushion flowers.

Members of this genus are native to Europe and Asia. Some species of Scabiosa, notably small scabious (S. columbaria) and Mediterranean sweet scabious (S. atropurpurea) have been developed into cultivars for gardeners. Illustrated here is the Scabiosa columbaria cultivar 'Pink Mist'.

Scabiosa plants have many small flowers of soft lavender blue, lilac or creamy white colour borne in a single head on a tall stalk. Scabious flowers are nectar rich and attract a variety of insects including moths and butterflies such as the Six-spot Burnet. Scabiosa species are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Grey Pug.

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FFF53 - SWAN RIVER DAISY

Brachyscome iberidifolia (Swan River Daisy) is a delightful, easy to grow small shrub 15cm to 45cm and is native to Western and central Australia. Masses of purple, blue or white flowers from Spring to Autumn. Ideal for mass planting along borders, rockeries, as ground cover, in tubs or hanging baskets.

Brachyscome is a genus of around 70 species of mostly annual and perennial herbs and a few subshrubs in the daisy family Asteraceae. 65 of these are endemic to Australia, the remainder being found in New Zealand and New Guinea. They have typical "daisy" flower heads with showy ray florets in shades of white, pink, mauve, violet or blue, surrounding a usually narrow group of yellow disk florets. The leaves are often dissected to varying degrees but may be linear or spathulate. In growth habit they vary between plants with a rosette of basal leaves and more-or-less leafless flower scape, and those with mostly cauline leaves and often prostrate stems.

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FFF52 - MALLOW

Malva sylvestris is a species of the Mallow genus Malva in the family of Malvaceae and is considered to be the type species for the genus. Known as common mallow to English speaking Europeans, it acquired the common names of cheeses, high mallow and tall mallow (mauve des bois by the French) as it migrated from its native home in Western Europe, North Africa and Asia through the English speaking world. M. sylvestris is a vigorously healthy plant with showy flowers of bright mauve-purple, with dark veins; a handsome plant, often standing 1 metre high and growing freely in fields, hedgerows and in fallow fields.

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It is a year since I first started this blog and I wish to thank all of the people who follow it and who contribute to it each week. It is a pleasure to have you join in and to see your glorious flower photos!

FFF51 - "EVELYN" ROSE

Rosa "Evelyn" from David Austin was bred from Tamora x Graham Thomas. The rose has the typical Austin cupped /rosette form. Evelyn is known for the beauty of the blooms, for their fragrance and for a marvellous display at flowering time. The plant has a neat vase shape at the base, then reaches both up and out. It grows to about two metres tall with some canes spreading about the same width. Basals are produced readily, and throw candelabras of bloom - bearing huge, lush, drooping panicles of soft pink blossoms. Older canes tend to bloom with single buds, or in twos and threes.

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FFF50 - GERMANDER SPEEDWELL

Veronica is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae, with about 500 species. Taxonomy for this genus is currently being reanalysed, with the genus Hebe and the related Australasian genera Derwentia, Detzneria, Chionohebe, Heliohebe, Leonohebe and Parahebe included by many botanists. Common names include speedwell, bird's eye, and gypsyweed.

The species are herbaceous annuals or perennials, and also shrubs or small trees if Hebe is included. Most of the species are from the temperate Northern Hemisphere, though with some species from the Southern Hemisphere.

Veronica chamaedrys (Germander Speedwell, Bird's-eye Speedwell - shown above) is a species of Veronica, native to Europe and northern Asia. It is found on other continents as an introduced species. It is a herbaceous perennial plant with hairy stems and leaves. It can grow to 25 cm tall, but is normally about 12 cm tall. The flowers are blue, with a four-lobed corolla. The form of the leaves are similar to white deadnettle. The 2 to 4 mm wide blossoms of this plant wilt very quickly upon picking, which has given it the ironic name "Männertreu", or "men's faithfulness" in German.

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FFF49 - SPRINGTIME ROSE

Rosa spp 'Yellow Charles Austin' is a modern shrub rose which produces fully double, fragrant, yellow flowers. This is bush with splendid, showy flowers that are fully double petalled and belong to the "old-fashioned" rose group. Leaves are medium to dark green, glossy, and ovate, with finely toothed edges. The flowers are quite fragrant.

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FFF48 - PROSTANTHERA

Prostanthera magnifica, commonly known as Magnificent Prostanthera, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is endemic to Western Australia. The species is a shrub growing to between 0.4 and 2.5 metres high.

The flowers are mauve to pink and are framed by large, purplish-red calyces. These appear between August and November in the species native range. The species was first formally described by botanist Charles Austin Gardner in 1942 in Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia.

The species occurs in woodland on sand, loam or clay soils. Prostanthera magnifica prefers a sunny or partly shaded position in well drained soil. It is sensitive to both frost and humidity. Propagation is successful from both seed and cuttings, though seed germination is slow. Grafting is often used to produce a longer living plant with rootstocks including Westringia fruticosa and Prostanthera striatiflora .The latter gives rise to plants with a longer flowering period and less unwanted growth below the graft.

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FFF47 - KANGAROO PAW

Kangaroo paw is a common name for a number of species, in two genera of the family Haemodoraceae, that are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. These perennial plants are noted for their unique bird attracting flowers. The tubular flowers are coated with dense hairs and open at the apex with six claw-like structures: from this paw formation the common name "Kangaroo Paw" is derived.

Anigozanthos pulcherrimus Hook. (Yellow Kangaroo Paw). This species flowers in late spring through to early summer with golden yellow flowers on stems to 1.2 metres and is found naturally on the sand plains between Perth and Geraldton. All of the Kangaroo Paw species, especially some newly developed hybrid varieties are very colourful and bird attracting small plant for mixed plantings or in a container for patio and deck display.

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FFF46 - LECHENAULTIA

The genus Lechenaultia is a group of twenty small woody or semi-woody plants endemic to Australia. Their range of colours and shades of blue, green, yellow, red and white make them highly prized for horticultural work. The correct spelling of the generic name, Lechenaultia, is open to some argument. It was named after Leschenault de la Tour, a botanist who visited Australia in 1802-3. However, when Robert Brown, an early botanist first published the name he spelt it Lechenaultia, omitting the 's'. The spelling without the 's' is considered valid by Australian taxonomists.

All but three of the species are endemic to Western Australia and the most famous of all is the Blue Lechenaultia - L. biloba.The flowers, which grow to 1.5 cm long by 2-3 cm in diameter, have a tubular corolla, split on one side, and surrounded by five sepals. The corolla has five lobes and when laid flat it resembles an open fan or a hand with spread fingers. In L. biloba the corolla lobes are again divided into two segments, from which the specific name is derived.

Flowering time is from late winter through to summer. The leaves are soft, blue-green in colour, 3-9 mm long to 2 mm across, crowded and heathlike.The plant occurs naturally in gravelly and sandy soils of southern and central Western Australia. In its natural habitat it forms an open spreading plant to 50 cm high.

Various shades of blue are the most common flower colour in L. biloba, but variants exist. One is a pure white form while another, a bicoloured form, has been registered as a cultivar. L. biloba 'White Flash' has a distinct white central portion within the flower and a deep blue outer area.

In cultivation it is essential that the plant is grown in a sandy, well-drained situation. Plants in heavier sites will generally not last a season. The plant is not a long-lived one, three to four years being its most probable life span. A suckering form of the species exists and this has great potential with a probable longer life.The species is easily propagated by cuttings taken at any time of the year with most success in late spring and summer.

The most important cultivation requirement is a perfectly drained situation, best achieved in rockeries, built-up beds or pots. L. biloba has been successfully cultivated in pots for many years in Europe. Minimal watering is required and the roots will penetrate deeply in a free-draining soil. Lechenaultia biloba can be allowed to straggle over rocks, or a more compact shape may be obtained by a light pruning after flowering. No injurious pests or diseases have been noted and the species is frost tolerant.

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FFF45 - BUNJONG

Pimelea spectabilis (Bunjong) is a species of shrub in the family Thymelaeaceae, endemic to Western Australia. It is erect in habit, growing to between 0.5 and 2 metres high. The pink and white flowers are produced between August and December in its native range. The species was first formally described by English botanist John Lindley in 1839 in A sketch of the vegetation of the Swan River colony.

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