英国倒挂金钟协会的定位与成立背景
英国倒挂金钟协会（The British Fuchsia Society，简称 BFS）是英国面向所有对倒挂金钟属植物感兴趣爱好者的全国性园艺协会。协会成立于 1938 年，是英格兰与威尔士注册的慈善机构（注册号 1038334），同时在苏格兰也注册为慈善机构（注册号 SC039652）。
协会面向公众免费提供倒挂金钟种植方面的咨询，公众可以通过协会官网或直接联系获取指导。除一般爱好者外，协会的成员与志愿者中也包括不少英国本土倒挂金钟家族的育种者和展览者。
协会的成立延续了倒挂金钟在英国园艺传统中的位置：第一批倒挂金钟植物于 1788 年由 Captain Firth 从巴西带回英格兰；此后经过十九世纪育种者的努力，英国成为倒挂金钟品种培育和展览的重要阵地。第一届美国倒挂金钟协会成立于 1929 年，比英国协会早九年。
组织架构与全国性活动
协会下设若干职能分支，涵盖行政、出版、赛事、技术培训等。出版方每年向会员邮寄三期会刊（夏季、秋季、冬季各一期）；比赛方每年组织约八场全国性竞赛展览，对会员免费开放；培训方则提供展会事务员（Show Stewards）和评审员（BJudges）的认证培训。
协会每年举办两场面向会员及公众开放的流动路演（Roadshows），在不同地点轮流举行；同时派出展台参加英国主要的花展，包括 Harrogate Spring、Malvern Spring、Southport Flower Show、Harrogate Autumn Show 以及 Malvern Autumn Show 上举办的 BFS Fuchsia Festival。
协会鼓励年轻人参与倒挂金钟的种植与展示，专设 Juniors 板块并提供入门资源；此外还有摄影、栽培、杂交等专题的提示文章（Hints & Tips），由会员贡献。
兴趣小组、地方分会与附属社团
协会下设多个特殊兴趣小组（Special Interest Groups，简称 SIG），分别聚焦倒挂金钟属的不同主题，包括品种分类与杂交（Species, Hybridisation and Heritage Group）、三叶倒挂金钟（Triphyllas）以及苏格兰分会（BFS Scotland）等；其中品种与杂交小组每年通过线上线下混合方式举办年度聚会，苏格兰分会则在苏格兰地区定期召开。
英国各地有多个地方性倒挂金钟社团作为附属分会与协会保持联系。这些分会负责组织本地化的展览、栽培交流和会员发展。协会提供公共责任保险方案和年度续约表格供附属分会使用，并设有专门的附属社团协调专员（Assistant Secretary）负责日常联络。
协会每年通过种子登记系统（Seedling Register）登记会员培育的新品种，并向公众开放查询；同时设有演讲嘉宾（BFS Speakers）名单，可邀请演讲人到地方社团或园艺活动做栽培与品种介绍。
赛事体系与评审培训
协会每年组织的全国性竞赛展览约八场，对会员免费开放，会员可凭会员身份参加预定的比赛组别。展示项目覆盖各类栽培形态——标准型（Standard）、半标准型（Half Standard）、丛生型（Bush）、垂吊型（Basket）以及吊钟型（Triphylla）等。评审员按照协会制定的栽培与展示标准对参赛植株进行评分，评委名单由协会公开。
评审员和展会事务员的培训由协会专门组织：完成基础课程的学员可先担任助理事务员，再经过实战考核晋升为正式事务员；评审员则需要在多场展览中担任助理评审后，由评审委员会推荐获得正式资格。这种阶梯式的培训体系保证全国比赛的评判水平相对统一。
每年年底，协会的会刊会根据会员投票公布当年最受好评的十大展示品种，由 Carol Gubler 等资深会员整理。这一榜单在英国倒挂金钟爱好者中具有风向标作用，常被育种者和收藏者作为下一季采购与杂交计划的依据。
财务公开与志愿者基础
协会每年按英格兰与威尔士慈善委员会的要求提交财务报告。按公开数据，协会在截至 2025 年 10 月 31 日的财年内总收入约 1.96 万英镑，总支出约 2.32 万英镑，13 位理事（Trustees）和约 50 位志愿者共同维持日常运作。
所有理事均不领取报酬或津贴，协会通过会员费、出版物销售收入以及会员捐款维持运营。公众如希望查阅往年账目，可通过协会官网上提供的联系邮箱向秘书处索取。
作为一家在两地注册的慈善机构，协会的目标是通过展览、培训和公众教育促进倒挂金钟属植物在英国的种植与推广；其活动覆盖展会组织、年轻爱好者培养、评审与事务员培训、栽培咨询以及新品种登记等。
About the British Fuchsia Society
The British Fuchsia Society (BFS) is the UK national society for everyone with a fascination for the fuchsia genus. It was formed in 1938 and is registered as a charity in both England and Wales (Registered Charity No. 1038334) and in Scotland (Registered Charity No. SC039652).
The society gives free advice on fuchsias to any member of the public through its website or by direct enquiry. Members and volunteers include many of the UK’s own fuchsia family breeders and exhibitors.
The society sits within a wider British fuchsia tradition. The first fuchsia plants arrived in England from Brazil in 1788, brought back by Captain Firth. Through the 19th century, British growers built a strong reputation for fuchsia cultivation and exhibition; the American Fuchsia Society, founded in 1929, formed nine years before BFS itself.
Organisation and National Activities
The society runs on a network of officers covering publishing, shows, training and administration. Members receive three printed bulletins a year, posted to their home address. The society organises around eight national competitive shows a year, free of charge for members to enter. Training is provided for both Show Stewards and BFS Judges.
Two open Roadshows are held each year, moving around different locations in the country and open to members and the public. The society also staffs stands at the major UK flower shows, including Harrogate Spring, Malvern Spring, Southport Flower Show, Harrogate Autumn Show and the BFS Fuchsia Festival at the Malvern Autumn Show.
The society actively encourages younger growers through its Juniors section and welcomes members’ Hints & Tips contributions on photography, cultivation, hybridising and other practical subjects.
Special Interest Groups, Local Branches and Affiliates
The society runs several Special Interest Groups (SIGs) covering different parts of the genus, including the Species, Hybridisation and Heritage Group, the Triphyllas Group and the BFS Scotland branch. The species and hybridisation group holds an annual meeting each year in a mix of in-person and online formats, while the Scotland branch holds regular regional meetings.
A network of local fuchsia societies across the UK operates as affiliated branches in contact with BFS. These branches organise local shows, cultivation exchanges and membership drives. The society provides a Public Liability Insurance scheme and an annual renewal form for affiliated societies, with an Assistant Secretary handling day-to-day liaison.
New fuchsia seedlings raised by members are recorded each year through the Seedling Register, which is searchable on the society’s website. The BFS Speakers list provides a panel of speakers available to give talks on cultivation and varieties to local clubs and gardening events.
Show System and Judge Training
Around eight national competitive shows are held each year, free for members to enter. Exhibits cover the full range of cultivation forms: Standards, Half Standards, Bushes, Baskets and Triphyllas. Judges apply the society’s published cultivation and presentation standards, and the judges list is publicly listed.
Training for judges and show stewards is run by the society itself. Stewards start as assistant stewards and progress through practical assessments; judges serve as assistant judges at multiple shows before being nominated by the judges committee for full status. This stepped pathway keeps judging standards broadly consistent nationwide.
Each year, members vote on the Top Ten Show Varieties, with results compiled by Carol Gubler and other senior members and published in the year-end bulletin. The list is widely read by British fuchsia growers as a guide for buying and hybridising plans the following season.
Charity Numbers and Volunteer Base
The society files annual accounts with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. For the financial year ending 31 October 2025, total income was about £19,654 and total expenditure about £23,184, with 13 Trustees and around 50 volunteers running day-to-day operations.
No trustees receive any remuneration or benefits; the society is funded through membership subscriptions, publication sales and member donations. Members of the public may request previous years’ accounts by emailing the society’s contact address given on its website.
Registered as a charity in both England & Wales and Scotland, the society’s stated aims are to advance fuchsia cultivation and exhibition through shows, education and public engagement — covering national shows, junior grower development, fair-weather training for stewards and judges, free cultivation advice and a national register of new fuchsia introductions.
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