The treasure I am sharing today is the beautiful Fuchsia named "Bee Keesey" (Pennisi, USA 1972). This fuchsia was developed and named in honor of my grandmother, Beatrice Cook Keesey.
Beatrice Cook Keesey (1902-1992) was a great granddaughter of John Brown, the abolitionist. She was very active in the American Fuchsia Society (AFS) and the local Santa Clara Valley Branch from 1960 through the late 1980s. Her dedication to these intriguing flowers was legendary in the Santa Clara Valley. She taught seminars about growing, pruning, and propagating the hundreds of varieties of these graceful flowers. She was an accredited fuchsia judge in great demand throughout the state of California. Her own small garden was filled with 400 + varieties of fuchsias, as well as begonias, African violets and roses. She served as President of the AFS in the 1980s and was influential in organizing the first annual AFS convention.
Description of the Bee Keesey Fuchsia -- Double. Tube white, thick, short sepals white with green tips, long, standing straight out. Corolla wisteria-blue with white veriegations, large, full, box type. Growth, trailer with weights, easily trained as a weeping standard. Source: Find That Fuchsia website
Unless otherwise noted, all photographs were taken by Alice Keesey Mecoy and remain the property of Alice Keesey Mecoy. If you would like to use a photograph or post on your site, please ask for permission first and give proper credit. Thank you!