Day 297: You can't beat hardy Fuchsias for putting on a show in the garden! Like their annual cousins, they are prolific bloomers and attract hummingbirds by the dozen. Their growth habit is shrubby, woody stems rising three feet or more from ground level in some cases, with blossoms more widely spaced on the stalks than those of the annual varieties. They are deciduous, losing their leaves in the fall (a factor which makes them undesirable to some people), but in the spring, new shoots emerge from the soil, and will be followed somewhat later by the emergence of leaves on the old stems if they haven't been pruned back. I prefer to let mine sprawl until they start to look weedy. Then an autumn "haircut" puts them back in order. A wide variety of colour combinations are available, but pay attention to the hardiness rating and plant according to your zone. As a general rule, the lighter the colour, the less hardy the plant. From left to right, top to bottom: Army Nurse, Erecta (hardy in Zone 7 with some protection), Dollar Princess, Genii and Riccartonii. Both the small-flowered varieties shown here produce an edible oblong purple berry which can be added to fruit salads for visual interest, although the taste is rather bland if eaten directly from the plant.
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