Fuchsia Enthusiasts Make Gift to City
The city’s oft-forgotten official flower received its due this week when the National Fuchsia Society presented the City Council with blooming fuchsia plants to help launch the Orange County Fair, which runs Friday through July 27 at the Orange County Fairgrounds.
The club will be a partner in the 1998 Orange County Fair and has had promotional duties this year. Fuchsia enthusiasts said they decided to honor the City Council on Monday after they recently learned that Costa Mesa’s official flower was their favorite.
“It’s kind of exciting because it revitalizes interest in the flower,” said Mel Knutson, 59, president of the Garden Grove-based fuchsia society, which boasts 260 members in Orange County.
Though native to Tahiti, New Zealand, Central and South America, the fuchsia is a widely cultivated house and garden plant in North America and Europe.
There are more than 100 species that grow as shrubs and trees. The flowers come in several colors, but are typically associated with a purple-red hue. The plants are named for 16th century German botanist Leonard Fuchs.
The city adopted the plant’s flower, which resembles dangling earrings, shortly after incorporation in 1953, officials said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
