Johannesburg - For the past 25 years, Lady Beth Fuchsia Nursery in Fourways has propagated thousands of fuchsias for gardeners across Gauteng. Every November, gardeners have flocked to their annual fuchsia festival to see spectacular show plants and flowering fuchsias displayed in beautiful garden settings.
The Lady Beth Fuchsia Nursery was founded in 1988 when Beth Middleton bought a small backyard nursery from a friend emigrating to Canada. Situated on one of the very few remaining agricultural holdings in the heart of Fourways, the nursery quickly became the country’s flagship fuchsia grower and a centre of horticultural excellence.
In 1995, Middleton launched their first fuchsia festival and invited the public into her specialist fuchsia nursery.
This year’s 18th fuchsia festival, which ends on December 1, will be their last. “It is with some sadness and a sense of loss that this year’s show will be the last one,” said Middleton.
“But it is time.”
As colour queens of the shade garden, fuchsias are at their flowering best in November every year. “Fuchsias and November go together like bread and butter,” said Middleton.
Across the country fuchsias are now flowering with their colourful, ballerina blooms. “If you don’t yet have one of these rewarding shrubs in your garden, now is the time to take a look and admire the incredible colour spectrums which occur from the palest whites to almost black in the most amazing combinations,” she said.
Lady Beth Fuchsia Nursery is one of the best places in the country to see the hundreds of varieties of fuchsias available. “They vary in shape and form,” said Middleton.
“Some blooms are huge, fat doubles the size of a hand, while others are dainty, small singles only about a centimetre long. Some grow upright; others cascade over the edge of pots or baskets showing off their blooms in an irresistible manner, with something to attract everyone,” she said.
Fuchsias are easy to grow and will flower continually from spring to the first frosts.
“Fuchsias make excellent container plants and are as at home in pots as in the garden. With all the beautiful pots and baskets available on the market, you can create focal points in your garden or on your patio. This, in turn, accentuates their beauty as they are lifted to show off their pendulous blooms,” she said.
Fuchsias make spectacular decor accessories on a shady patio and for this reason are excellent plants for potting up in a large attractive container. How do you plant up your own fuchsias?
“The ideal potting soil for a fuchsia is a rich, loose and well-drained soil,” said Middleton. “Ordinary potting soil from your nursery is ideal. Mix this together with either bone meal or superphosphate and plant your fuchsia as you would other plant.”
“Ensure that the pot is a minimum of 25cm to 35cm in diameter and that it has good drainage holes in the bottom. Should you feel the fuchsia is a little lonely, fill in around it using annuals or else double up on the number of fuchsias for that special effect. Water thoroughly. It’s as easy as that,” she said.
Fuchsias will thrive in shade. However, they do need sufficient light to flower well.
“The perfect conditions for most fuchsias are dappled shade under a tree or in an east-facing position, where they will receive morning sun and shade in the afternoon,” advised Middleton.
In order to keep your fuchsias in peak condition, Middeton recommended a weekly inspection to:
* Remove any dead leaves,
* Check for any pests, and spray accordingly
* Remove any seedpods
* Deadhead old blooms
* Water regularly, but be careful as they hate wet feet.
* Fertilise either using granular 2:3:2 or Multifeed or Multisol 2:1:2 which are dissolved in water.
* Visit the last Lady Beth Fuchsia Festival in Fourways. Ends December 1. 9am-5pm daily. Entrance: free. 45 Oak Ave, Fourways, (from Douglas road into Swallow, then Oak). Download map @ www.ladybeth.co.za. Call 011 705 1674.
GENERAL GARDEN TIPS
* To attract a variety of butterflies to your garden, plant scabious, buddleja, pentas, verbena, daisies and cosmos.
* Strelitzias make excellent subjects for modern containers. They are also perfect accent plants in the garden. The blue-green lance-shaped leaves have strong form. And the nectar in the orange and blue flowers is great for attracting birds.
* Summer flowering arum lilies come in the colours pink, lemon, red, burgundy and almost black. Grow them in richly composted soil in a sunny position in the garden, or in potting soil in containers. Mark their position in the garden to avoid damage when they are still in the dormant phase. - Saturday Star