Whether you love or hate the brash, colourful shocking pink and purple flowers of the most commonly found form of fuchsia, or are a fan of varieties with more subtle colouring, there is something about this humble plant that might surprise even keen gardeners.
Apart from the fact that fuchsia keep on flowering, right up to the end of October when the first Christmas lights start to appear in shopping malls, there is something else to love and cherish about this pretty plant.
With edible flowers found in the chillers of grocery stores and being used to adorn cakes and summer salads alike, you might be surprised to learn that the fuchsia is an edible flower too. Bypass the pansies and eschew the rose petals; it’s time for fuchsias to shine.
Which part can you eat, and how does it taste? You can in fact eat both fruit and flowers alike, and the flavour of the berry is subtly tart, with a fresh flavour not unlike that of the strawberry or kiwi fruit. Some compare them to the blueberry, while others claim the flavour is more akin to a stoneless variety of cherry.
Fuchsia flower from June to October, whether you opt for the well-known purple and pink fuchsia magellanica, the lesser found, pale lavender fuchsia magellanica var molinae, or the pure white fuchsia magellanica Hawkshead. All grow best in a sheltered spot. Once rooted they soon flourish, even recovering admirably from frost. If they grow a little too keenly, you can always trim them back, just as you would with an overenthusiastic buddleia.
