My gran had a fuchsia plant when I was growing up. I remember it had dark pink outer petals (a colour that I’d now call fuchsia) and mauve inner petals, and I used to spend ages trying to pop the little buds open to see the flowers. How I didn’t kill the plant completely is beyond me; it wasn’t intentional. I just liked the little bell shaped flowers.
Unlike with the iris (see my earlier blog post), I was aware that fuchsias came in a variety of colours and even different shapes – the double fuchsias are like little ballerinas in great big flouncy tutus – and not just in fuchsia pink, either. In fact, I’m starting to wonder if fuchsia pink is actually one of the rarer colours for this flower!
This one, for example, is known as “Ballerina” – which simply reinforces the idea of the petals being tutus – and is a gorgeous deep mauve with white inner petals, streaked with mauve. I think it’s the contrast between the two which really catches the eye. There’s something strangely exotic about it; I can almost imagine it on a tropical island.
This flouncy beauty is a double fuchsia, known as “Blue Eyes”. I particularly like the combination of pale pink outer petals and beautiful lilac inner petals. There’s something slightly 1950s about it as well which I find especially appealing.
It’s always unusual to find a true blue flower, but this is “Delta Sarah” and is especially vibrant against the pure white outer petals. Unusually for fuchsias, these outer petals bend right back, allowing the inner ones for form a trumpet. It’s a lovely pretty flower, and I want one.
But not as much as I want one of these. Another double fuchsia, this is “Velvet Crush” and I think it is simply wonderful. I especially love the maroon inner petals, so voluptuous. It’s very aptly named; the colour is of a rich velvet and there’s something of the berry about it. I almost want to eat them.
So, from my Pinterest boards, four randomly picked fuchsias and not a fuchsia colour among them. Perhaps someone ought to have a word with whoever it is that gives colours names; there’s more to fuchsia than pink, it seems to me.
planetstef 