Fabulous Fuchsias - the Graceful Garden Dancers (Confessions of a [Former] Fuchsia Snob)

My husband and I, and our family, have lived in a number of houses, in different states of Australia and the homes that have felt happiest for me are those where I have been surrounded by loads and loads of greenery.

In 1989 we moved to the Adelaide Hills, a simply fantastic place for green-lovers to live.

Our house was set on a half acre block in the leafy suburb of Crafers. The house was relatively new and the first owners had (over) planted the garden with Australian Natives. In the two years we lived there I started a rose garden.

The winters were cold there and it often rained but it always felt cheerful because there was so much beautiful greenery to see outside in the garden and the wood fire kept our house cosy and warm; the only thing that was warmer was the kindness of our neighbours and the people we met there. This could have been a very challenging time as our son was only 6 weeks old when we moved to Adelaide, but the South Australians were so helpful and welcoming and instead it was a very happy couple of years for us.

The Adelaide Hills are vast and incredibly beautiful. At the time we lived there, driving around the back roads you could unexpectedly turn a corner and find you've reached the crest of a hill where you could look down upon all the fields and paddocks below and feel almost as if you were at the top of the world looking down on the 360 degree views below.

Our son was difficult to settle and a drive in the country was often the only way to persuade him to have at least an hour or so of sleep during the day, thus I had the opportunity to see so much more of the Hills region than I might have otherwise.

There were some really interesting places to go, such as the Onkaparinga Woollen Mills, which was still in operation at the time, where I bought a couple of  blankets that we still use today, the Bridgewater Mill, as well as some excellent vineyards and many lovely old buildings.

My favourite place was Weald View Gardens, in Ashton. Their nursery was set up under a large expanse of shade cloth with paths winding through raised garden beds filled with every imaginable colour, size, shape and style of fuchsia.

A lush border of Baby's Tears (Helxine) rimmed gardens of the more upright plants while coir baskets crammed with cascading blooms seemed to float ethereally in the air above. The experience can only be described as magical and it was here, in this wonderful fairyland, that my love affair with Fuchsias began.

I've scanned some photos from my last visit, taken with my old (film) camera. These pics really don't do justice to this wonderful place, as the camera didn't cope too well with the low light situation.

Wendys Beauty

When we first moved into our house in the Sydney Hills (2003) I attempted to grow fuchsias under the shelter of my front portico but as I watched those beautiful garden ballerinas struggle, I had to accept that perhaps these were not for Sydney gardens. I had a young family to take care of and soon after that returned to the workforce and so didn't have time for things that were too difficult.

18 months ago I thought I'd try fuchsias again and bought some rooted cuttings. I didn't hold much hope and so only bought two. Locating them once again on my front portico, the new fuchsias were doing OK and so I decided to invest in a lucky-dip collection, an additional four.

The plants continued to be OK, but didn't show any signs of  thriving as I well as I expected so I decided it was time to do some research on why they were leggy and not producing any flowers to speak of.

I think my problem was mostly related to the amount of sun/light they received. 

I don't have a shade house where the amount of sunlight can be controlled by the protection factor of the shade cloth above so I am experimenting with different locations in my garden, mostly under the shade of trees where they receive some but not too much sun. The hanging baskets look quite cute suspended by hooks from the overhead tree branches.  Keeping them in pots and hanging baskets allows them to be moved around as required, into deeper shade on very hot days and further out as the sun becomes less intense.

I used to think that double fuchsias were the only ones worth growing. If it wasn't all bouffant and fluffy I didn't want it in my garden. I didn't care that the single ones were easier to grow and I was horrified that the lucky dip pack I bought contained not only single varieties, but also one with only tiny flowers and yellow foliage, Fuchsia Aurea (YUCK!) and Brian C Morrison, a triphylla (as if I wanted one of those)! So I very reluctantly potted them up as they grew bigger, because it was the right thing to do. I guess I was a Fuchsia Snob.

It seems like these two fuchsias have pulled out all the stops to impress me and change my mind. And it's worked. Of my original half dozen, Aurea and Brian C Morrison have performed the best and have won me over. Both have been flowering constantly since late spring and are not showing any signs of ceasing any time soon. Aurea's yellow foliage is no longer just yellow, it now is tinged with delightful lime green and her dainty little flowers cascade gently over the sides of her basket.

Fuchsia Aurea

Not only does Brian C Morrison have particularly interesting flowers, the leaves are massive and veined in dark red.

Brian C Morrison

Brian C Morrison

Blue Frills

Heidi Ann

Weald View Minuet

Fuchsias are incredibly easy to strike from cuttings. Knowing that each plant has a life of about two years, cuttings can be taken each year to ensure an ongoing supply of each plant. Accidental breakages are really new cuttings^.

Fuchsias only flower on new growth so it is important to trim dead wood regularly.

In a world where so many plants are terribly toxic to cats, fuchsias shine out as cat-friendly plants so they can be planted anywhere they like to grow in the back garden, where our felines love to roam.

My plants don't look anywhere near as good as those at Weald View Garden, and possibly never will, but that's OK. They are the experts and this is what they do. Regardless, ever the optimist,  I have high hopes for the autumn and next spring.

Its over twenty years since we last visited Weald View Gardens and this is one place to which I would love to return some day. I'm not sure that it will be the same, for things rarely are, but I am hopeful that some of the magic will remain. I've found the website of Weald View Gardens and I'm very happy that they are still there. I'd also love to take some new pictures, with a smart digital camera that does all the hard work for me!


^ NB: Plants should only be propagated for personal use as may varieties are covered by laws that prohibit commercial production.