My True Goal and Hope

The whole point of creating a fuchsia nursery, growing lavender and making lavender wands, is to be able to afford to take the time to indulge myself in creating art.  My dream is to be able to make art in the winter, grow fuchsias in the spring, and make lavender wands in the summer.
I am finally posting a few "doodles" on Etsy.com
Here is one I finished last night.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/113798527/fisherman-ooak-blue-ballpoint-ink-pen

All That Can Be Made This Year

All the lavender wands that can be made this year are done!
There is no more lavender which can be used to make these.  Until late July of next year!
I wound up using 25 colors of double sided satin ribbon this year when I wanted to stick to just 12.  But several customers persuaded me otherwise!  Not all of the colors are available in all four sizes though.
The long stems needed for the large and huge sizes are not easy to come by.  So I tried to reserve those long stems for the colors I felt most people would want.
I happily encourage people to purchase more than 10 at a time because if you look at my Etsy.com store called "Pedricks" you will see categories.
And there is a "Wholesale Wand" category which gives you  a whopping 50% off if you buy 10 at a time!

Yippee, I can cook with onions, peppers, and garlic again without fear of ruining the lavender!!

Lavender Wands Plum Small

I love growing long stemmed English Lavender and have been fashioning them into wands for years now.  This years crop of lavender is better than ever and I have a palette of new colors I am very excited about.  It is called 'Plum' and these are the first new wands in the small size.  I hope you will give one a try!
They are not yet included on the website, but you can find them all here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/104566097/lavender-wands-plum-small

In my Etsy.com com store named "Pedricks"
There is also a link to it to in the right hand column here.
Etsy.com is a wonderful site which gives artists and craftpersons of all kinds a great venue.

'Autumn Orange' 2012

'Autumn Orange' is one of my personal favorites.  I love the rich colors on this little semi-double blossom.  'Autumn Orange' is now in the direct path of the deer who come through here every night.  She survived freezing this last winter, gophers last fall, and several nibbles by the deer.  Liquid Deer Fence is expensive but very effective if used on a weekly basis when plants are growing fast.  At least once a week, more often if it rains or drizzles, I walk through quickly misting everything.  This has enabled us to even grow a huge vegetable garden out in the open!!  One misstep though, can mean major setbacks.  I missed the new leaves of our young new fruit orchard and in one evening the dear stripped every leaf off of all of them.  Fortunately, I haven't made that mistake again and all are recovering!!

'Mary Miloni' 2012

'Mary Miloni' is proving herself to be a vigorous upright fuchsia bush!  This photo doesn't do her justice.  The flowers are massive, as big as any hanging basket bloom I have seen.  And the corolla or skirt starts out a beautiful shade of deep purple.  The tops of the sepals are white.  I will try to get a better shot posted soon!

'Delta's Parade' 2012

'Delta's Parade' is a trouper!  I have never seen it without at least one or two blossoms on it no matter what time of year it is.  And I have them in several locations, from out in the full sun to the partial shade, and none of them froze this winter.

'Quasar' 2012

'Quasar' is one of those I can never grow enough of!  This stock plant did very well near the edge of a huge oak.  So it gets full morning sun and had the protection of the leaves overhead in the winter, so it did not freeze.  Many people grow them in hanging baskets, but it makes a stunning show as a large bush in a 15 gallon container!

'Fanfare' 2012

'Fanfare' is a stunning reminder of the varied forms fuchsias can come in which most people would not think of.  It is also a great example of how they can survive in a far wider range of conditions than people realize.  This is another one of the stock plants that froze to ground level and has come back with as much vigor as any rose out in the full sun.  Throwing out new four and five foot "canes" with more on the way.  Looking at these huge glossy leaves, one would have no idea it is a fuchsia until it begins to bloom!

'Blue Eyes' 2012

'Blue Eyes' is often grown in a hanging basket, but doesn't trail well and does much better as a low bush.  Plus, fuchsias grown in hanging baskets cannot live as long as they could because they quickly outgrow their containers.
Fuchsia bushes can live for over a century!  And they develop thick trunks with interesting bark.
This makes some of the slower growing varieties great candidates for bonsai.  A growing technique which should be employed to keep hanging baskets alive far longer than most.

'Dancing Stars' 2012

'Dancing Stars' are in a "cage" to protect them from hungry deer.  The deer this year have been very bold, even feeding during the day along busy highways.  Liquid Deer Fence works very well.  But this time of year, when things are growing fast, it is necessary to spray often.  So I have begun to surround some of the smaller bushes with cages.  That way, if the deer do get to them, they won't get much.
Meanwhile, aren't these the cutest little flowers!?

'Rohees New Millennium' 2012

'Rohees New Millennium' is such a dark shade of purple it is almost black!  It is a vigorous grower and made it through this winter without a singe.  It is still in a 15 gallon container and is only in the full sun for the first half of the day.  I plan on seeing how well a new one does planted out in the full sun later this fall.
As it is best to either plant fuchsias in the early spring or late fall when it begins to cool down if you are going to plant fuchsias into the ground out in the full sun.  A large and healthy root system is vital to most plants ability to thrive in the full sun.

'Yolanda Franck' 2012

'Yolanda Franck' is proving to be a great addition to my upright fuchsia collection with vigorous and definite upward growth.  I am looking forward to seeing how high she can grow out here in the full sun of zone 9b.  All of the uprights would get taller in the shade, but I want to show that they are not just for the shade or even semi-shade.  The only time I have seen them damaged by the sun is if it is hot enough to even singe my roses.  And then, just like the roses, they grow out of it.  They need more water than roses and only good size plants should be grown out in the full sun.  If you are starting with small plants, then transplant them as early in the spring as possible or late fall when temperatures have begun to cool down and they can grow a good root system before the next spring.  A large healthy root system is vital to any plant growing out in the full sun.

'Winston Churchill' 2012

'Winston Churchill' will always be at the top of my list of favorites!  It is a cute little compact hardy upright fuchsia.  I love the blues in the double "skirt" on it.
All of the photos being posted this year of 2012 are new photos being taken as the stock plants recover from a freezing winter that took many down to ground level, and deer that ate many of the first attempts to bloom.
There wasn't much to offer this spring.  But the collection is now at 265 upright varieties and since the season is over for safely shipping small starts, the focus is having all of those varieties available for next spring and most available by this fall for the warmer zones where they bloom year round.

'Georgeanna' 2012

'Georgeanna' is a new addition to my collection and this is the first open bloom I've seen.  What a cutie!  I have a larger bush covered with new flower buds, but none are open yet so I couldn't wait and snapped this photo of an extra one.  The official description lists it as a double with pink sepals and grey & blue corollas.  And it is a grey blue with a bit of pink blush.  'Georgeanna' was hybridized by Tiret in 1955.

'Blue Flame' 2012

'Blue Flame' is a weather hardy upright which grows into a dense bush packed with tons of these red and blue/purple flowers.  This one would make a great low clipped hedge.  Did you know they use upright fuchsias as hedges in Europe?

'Hayward' 2012

'Hayward' is one the hardy upright fuchsias named after cities I am trying to collect.  Like 'San Leandro', 'City of Pacifica', and 'Los Angeles.'  It is not as big a bloom as 'Leslie', but has a much darker shade of blue.

'Abby Rose' 2012

Occasionally ones sees a generic upright fuchsia for sale at the big box stores with no name other than "fuchsia".  Often the tag even describes them as annuals when they are all perennials which can live a century or longer!!
So years ago I named this one after my niece, "Abby Rose".  And even if it turns out some day to have a name, this one will forever be 'Abby Rose' here.

'Rohees New Millenium' 2012

Wait till you see this one open!  With dark aubergine double sepals.  This photo reminds me of the original nick name given to fuchsias, "Angels Earrings".  Don't they look like jewels?  Few flowers have the colorful flower buds (sepals) that fuchsias do.  Putting on a show before the flower even opens.  'Rohees New Millenium' made it through this winter with flying colors and is currently one of the largest bushes in my collection!

'Aintree' 2012

'Aintree' is so white it is hard to get a good photo, but I will certainly try again!  The bright "rose" pink of the corolla is what most people think of when they hear a color described as "fuchsia".  But as you can see from other posts here, pinning down a color for the word fuchsia should be anything but simple!
This is a young bush, and as it grows I will prune it to stay off of the ground.  I'd like to plant a low growing ground cover under the bushes, but for now, it is more important to keep a watchful eye for any gopher activity.  So the ground will be kept bare until this winter when a heavy layer of hay for mulch will be laid down.

'Marin Glow' 2012

'Marin Glow' broke in half when it was being put into the ground here at the new location this past winter.  So I quickly stripped the broken half of most of it's leaves and buried it in the ground at the same time.  I had heard it was possible to root perennials this way in the winter time, and had success doing this with branches of lavender and lemon verbena.  This is a photo of the growth from that broken branch!  The flowers are past their dark purple blue stage and into the lighter phase already.

'Bagdad' 2012

'Bagdad' is a cute low growing compact bush with these delightful little double blossoms.  Doing very well out in the full sun in the ground and also did very well through the winter.

'Charming' 2012

'Charming' is a new addition to my collection I have not yet seen bloom, but the foliage is so unusual compared to most fuchsias, that I had to post of photo of it anyway.  The flower is going to be a single red and purple toned flower.  This variety was first introduced by Lye in 1877!!  It is the older cultivars I am searching for first.  So if you have an upright you don't see on the list I have so far on the website, please write me and let me know.  Perhaps we can do a trade.

'Minnesota' 2012

Minnesota is making a comeback!  This was a huge bush and you can still see the main trunk of it in the middle of all of this new growth.  The fuchsias which sustained the worst freezing damage were all along the road.  I believe that the unusually cold winter combined with the wind chill factor of passing cars, is why all of the big bushes I planted in this area when I moved the nursery here, froze to ground level.
They are all planted in big deep holes to provide lots of room for a deep layer of mulch and prevent water from running off instead of sinking in.  I didn't think that layer of mulch was going to be needed here, but I was wrong.  So this winter they will all be getting a nice thick winter blanket of hay.

'Lambada' 2012

Lambada is a small very compact bush.  But as you can see, it is busting out all over!  Growing out in the full sun has really encouraged a large mass of blooms this year.  Most of the varieties with tiny leaves, do better with more sun.  In the full shade, they become weak and don't bloom well.  This is zone 9b, so hotter zones might consider providing a half day of sun instead of all day.

'Coachman' 2012

'Coachman' is doing so much better here in our new location that it practically seems like a whole different fuchsia.  It had been in way too much shade and had been weak, with thin stems that barely supported it's blossoms.  Making me think it may not be an upright at all.
Here it is now though, growing straight up, with thick sturdy stems supporting these beautiful salmon and red flowers.

The brown twigs in the background of many of my new photos are what remains of the trunks of the bushes before they froze after the move this past winter.  I am leaving them in the first photos of each variety this year, to show people that fuchsias can and will come back up after freezing to ground level.

F. microphylla 2012

I know it is hard to make out much in this photo!  The leaves and flowers of F. microphylla are so tiny!  But not only are they abundant practically year round, this species is a winter hardy upright and a sunshine trouper.  This one is growing out in the full sun all day long.
The dense foliage makes for great clipped topiary's, low hedges, and bonsai.

'Sharkie' 2012

'Sharkie' is one of the real winter troupers!  No freezing damage at all, so it is now a four foot tall bush covered in these cute little blossoms with the blue twirled corollas.  Looking at these, maybe you can understand why I prefer to call them "skirts."  Don't they look like a skirt being twirled?

'Northway' 2012

Northway is another winter trouper.  Perhaps because she had the shelter of an oak tree nearby.  This is a beautiful little compact upright bush with lovely simple pink and cherry shaded blossoms.  Hybridized by Golics in 1976.

'Hollydale' 2012

'Hollydale' is blooming close to the ground because it too is regrowing from this last winter.  But it was not as damaged as some others.  It is a slower growing and nicely compact form of upright fuchsia.  It looks a great deal like 'Tennessee Waltz' before the flower opens completely and then it is easy to tell how different they are.

'Crescendo' 2012

'Crescendo' is blooming so close to the ground because it was one of those that froze to ground level.  But at you can see, it is doing well now!  I am guessing that the name refers to the second row of sepals that drop further down than the others as the flower matures.  And I love the two color tones!  The official description of the sepals is "Turkey Red Blended Peony Purple."  Okay!

'Cover Girl' 2012

Another winter trouper!  'Cover Girl' lost a few twigs to the freeze this winter, but otherwise did very well and is in full bloom right now.  This one looks like it is going to be one of the more compact bushes, probably reaching three feet at the most.  Maybe four with age and the development of a woody trunk.

Cineraria June 2012

Here is the first new bloom of 2012!  My camera doesn't do the vibrant shade of violet purple on this one.  I am really looking forward to posting a rainbow of colors and forms here this year.  The new crop is doing very well and ready to go!

Fuchsias As Bonsai 2012

Most people wouldn't think of fuchsias when it comes to bonsai, but there is even a website devoted to this!  Here is my first effort.  'Amber Rose' is about three years old now and has three trunks twined together which you won't be able to see until I prune it this spring.
A task made difficult when they are blooming!  So hard to bring myself to cut those off!
Some fuchsias grow so big so fast, it would not be a good idea to use them for bonsai.
Others like 'Amber Rose' grow slow and dense enough to make perfect candidates.
If you'd like to see her beginnings, you can check it out in the Fuchsia Forum of DavesGarden.com

'Dollar Princess' 2012

'Dollar Princess' is another proven champ!  She made it through the winter with no damage from freezing at all. It never ceases to amaze me how two plants just a few feet apart can have such different reactions to weather.  Others, like 'Duchess of Albany' are still just a few inches tall after freezing to ground level.
Here she is out in the full sun of June 2012!

'Los Angeles' 2012

'Los Angeles' is a new one to my collection and it is with great anticipation that I was finally able to see it bloom.  It froze to ground level this winter before it was able to bloom after being planted into the slope last fall.  So in this photo, it is still pretty close to the ground, but blooming away!!  It was hybridized by Evans & Reeves in 1938.  I am searching for as many of the older upright cultivars as I can find.  Especially those named after cities.  Let me know if you have one I haven't found yet!

'Leslie' 2012

'Leslie' is a stunning upright fuchsia!  Why toss out hanging basket fuchsias every year when an upright fuchsia can live to be over 100 years old?  Of course the hanging baskets types can live just as long, but it is much more difficult to keep them happy in those small pots.
Did you know fuchsias make great long lasting cut flowers in arrangements?  Can't do that with the trailing/hanging types either.
But both also do well as floated flowers in bowls of water or fountains!

F. magellanica 'chile'

Sometimes trying to verify the identity of a plant can be quite a journey!  I know this is Fuchsia magellanica 'chile' as it was given to me by a very knowledgeable source.  I can see from my photo of it's flower and another one of it's unique foliage, that it is different from any of the other magellanica's.  Of which there are over 30 variations.  But only about 15 of those have photo documentation available on the internet.
But until I can get verification from a documented source, this one can't be added to the PlantFiles database of DavesGarden.com, and this is one reason why I respect their database.
So now I need to search for this verification!

New Lavender June 2012

I am so excited!  My new field of lavender has been growing beautiful long stemmed new flowers this spring and are finally beginning to show some color.  It will be at least another month or two before they are mature enough to begin making lavender wands again.  The flowers cannot be too young are they will not dry out inside the basket woven at the end of the wand.  And if the stems are too young, they won't dry into a straight handle.  If they are too mature, they will break instead of bend when I make them into the basket around the flower heads.
So you can see why they can only be made during a short period of time each year!
I am really looking forward to making wands again.  And this year I have a few more colors of ribbon to work with.  Like "plum", "wine", and "fuchsia."
This photo is actually from two years ago, the current lavender flowers are not quite this open yet :)

White Wonder 2012

'White Wonder' also made it through the winter with almost no damage.  I was concerned because this is one of the slower growing upright fuchsias.  All the dead branches you see behind it belong to the F. boliviana which froze to ground level!  But if you look in the bottom left of the photo, you will see large furry green leaves.  Those are the new shoots coming up out of the ground from the base of the F. boliviana.
I can't tell you how relieved I was to see for myself how fuchsias can recover from being frozen to ground level.  It is also already producing flower buds and I will be making cutttings soon.
Now I can cut all of those dead canes off of it.  But I wanted to be able to take a photo of them with the new growth first.
Meanwhile, I am certainly also very happy to see 'White Wonder' doing so well!

'Preston Guild' 2012

Some of you will recognize 'Preston Guild' as the upright fuchsia I use for my logo!  I love the combination of white and purple/blue and the simple yet abundant flower form.
Here it is busting out all over for spring 2012.  Proving itself to be winter hardy as well as heat hardy.  I have it growing in a number of locations and it does excellent in all of them.  This year I will be using it as a new shade hedge for areas I need to protect tender young starts.  It is going to look beautiful!!

First Sale Via New Website!

'Sister Sister' was the first sale from the new website!  It is one of the stock plants which didn't suffer any damage this winter and has just recently been put into the ground here at the new location.  So I am really looking forward to seeing how big she can get.
Sorry folks, the customer bought all of them I had available!  Don't worry though, many more are on the way.

In regards to the stock plants which suffered the worst damage.  They were closer to the road and I believe it was the combination of cold weather and the wind chill from passing cars which caused the damage I will be showing here in the future as those ones regrow.  I took photos of the frozen victims so I could also show them coming back.  The majority of the ones which faired the best, were either close to or under a huge oak tree.  But then there were those like 'Sharkie' and 'Seaforth' to name a few, who were out in the wide open, planted deep in the ground, that never had any damage at all!!

Updating Website With Current Inventory

Finally got the inventory done so I can move on to getting the photos of the fuchsias onto the new website along with the PayPal buttons so people can place orders.
That is the focus for today and until it is done.  This is a one person operation and there is much to do!
It is a limited inventory due to the move last year and all of the damage from this winter.  Many of them needed to be reserved to replace lost stock.  But I am hoping people will bear with me and place orders.
As soon as the website is all up to date, the focus will be planting a new inventory with over 250 varieties!!

For now, I am not going to put the Lavender Wands onto the website, as the inventory on those are getting low and they can all be found on Etsy.com at my "Pedricks" store.  All the long stemmed English Lavender here is in full bloom and I can't wait to start making them again!  But I must wait until the flowers are done blooming, have begun to dry a bit, and the stems are firm enough to become a wand.  This year I have a few new colors of ribbon to work with, like 'plum', 'fuchsia', and 'wine'.  :)

Tennessee Waltz

'Tennessee Waltz' is another one of the stock plants which made it through the winter with no damage.  It is not out in the full sun all day like most of the others yet, as it is still in a large container.  I love the two tone aspect of the "skirt" on this one.  It gets even better as the flowers open up more!

City of Pacifica

Here is 'City Of Pacifica' proving that upright fuchsias planted in the ground can handle growing out in the full sun just fine!!  She not only made it through the winter that froze so many others, she is already covered in a mass of flower buds and open flowers.

May 2012 New Beginnings

I am going to try and post here more often.  As well as on our Facebook page.  It has been getting most of my attention :) and I need to remember to share updates here in the blog.
All of the stock plants are finally beginning to bloom and I am hoping to replace all of the previous photos with new ones from here, the new location for Pedricks Corner.
It was a difficult move.  What the gophers and deer didn't eat, froze!  So the current inventory is a bit thin.

And it was necessary to build a new website myself using DreamWeaver CS5.5 because Microsoft Office Live is shutting down.  A very time consuming process, since I had to learn a great deal first.  And am happy to say that the new website is up and running!  The old one is still functional, but not for long.
Meanwhile, I am determined to get an inventory done, and all of the new PayPal buttons put onto the new website asap.
                                           This is a recent photo of 'Jack Sieverns' who has proved he is a vigorous upright!

I hope people will assist a small one person enterprise move forward with an order of lavender wands, cineraria's, or Jerusalem Artichoke plants in the meantime.  Thanks!