Wistful for Wisteria

Who hasn't seen a wisteria vine climbing up a telephone pole along the highway in the spring, with its lovely lilac clusters hanging like chandelier prisms? It never ceases to amaze me that the most neglected (by human hands) plants somehow seem to put on a beautiful display every year.

When I was a child there was a wisteria vine growing on a telephone pole across the street. While playing with the little girls living near the wisteria vine, a huge wasp stung me on the neck. For years after that I wouldn't go near a wisteria vine.

 My back yard had two small wisteria vines. Instead of blooming all they did was entwine themselves in the crepe myrtle trees. I finally dug them up. But I do have a vine that I planted along the fence on the south side of my house, and hopefully one day it will bloom. I've since learned that it may take years for a plant to bloom--they stay in their 'juvenile' state for years.

This little bush is growing in the front yard of my friend's house.  It gets plenty of sun and she has trained it to stay in bush form. It's not planted near anything it can attach itself to; therefore, it should always be easy to manage.

I didn't know that wisteria is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). It was named after Caspar Wistar (1761-1818), an anatomy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Another small vine more in the 'bush' form, in my daughter's neighborhood.  The only color flowers I have seen are white and lavender/lilac, but apparently the flowers also appear in shades of pink, bluish-purple, and purple.

There are two species of wisteria seen in home gardens: Wisteria cinensis (Chinese wisteria) and Wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria).  The Chinese wisteria grows to a height of 25 feet with flower clusters from six to twelve inches in length. The individual flower clusters open simultaneously prior to the emergence of the foliage. The white form of Chinese wisteria (above) is extremely fragrant.

The Japanese wisteria also grows up to 25 feet. Its flowers open individually from the base of the cluster to the tip. It tends to bloom later in the spring, usually late May. Based on this information, our area seems to be populated with the Chinese wisteria.

Wisteria climbing up a still-dormant tree.

Could this be Japanese wisteria? Are its blossoms are opening one at a time? I don't know, but it's such a lovely vine that heralds the change of seasons unexpectedly. The thing I have noticed about wisteria: one day you don't see and the next day you do!

 

Remember those Bradford Pears?

Now in all their green splendor!  Simply beautiful.

Positively Precious Poppies!

My daughter surprised me a few weeks ago with a tray of poppies.  I was thrilled! Since they don't do well here because of the heat I usually don't buy any even when the garden centers have them for sale.  So the adventure began. Here they are sitting in their pots in what was once my front flower bed. That was dug up and grass will eventually go there. (Remember the evil weed?)

Still in the pots and full of buds! I've got to get cracking! No time to dilly-dally with these babies!.

This one is in a hurry to bloom!

I planted them in my new, condensed front flower bed.

Their fuzzy heads are so cute!

Watching these flowers prepare to bloom is an amazing sight.

And now, may I present the "Poppy Parade."

Nestled among the pansies and irises. The pansies in the pots are almost finished.  I've had all of the pansies since last October. 

The Alyssum Assignment - Finished!

I bought these plants the middle of March. The plan was to put in the strawberry jars which contained strawberries from last summer. There was one problem---I couldn't get the old strawberry plants out. They had begun to grow again and the roots were so tightly packed I decided to just stick the alyssum in with the strawberries.

When I began to transplant into the strawberry jars I discovered that the root systems on the alyssum were really small. They lost almost all of the dirt around their roots when I took them out of their flats.  But I persisted and managed to get about half in the strawberry jars.  The rest have been put in various pots around the back yard.

At first I was very disappointed with their appearance but they are now filling out and spilling over the rims of the jars. 

Here are some that I stuck in a pot with pansies.

The Lonely Iris

This sweet thing blooms each year all by itself. I planted several bulbs when I moved into my house but for some reason the others don't bloom.  So here it is....standing proud.

I bought a package of these bulbs at Lowe's.  It's hard to tell from the sunlight but the iris is white with the slightest blue around the edges of the petals.

The 'Other' Side of the Garden - part 2

A perfect spot to rest for a while and enjoy the beauty of nature.

I love the meandering pathways. But which way should I go? Right or left?

Still a few camellias left on this bush next to some lovely white azaleas.

I made my way down to this 'staircase' and approached but didn't go any further.  But I will go back and explore some more to see where it leads.

On my way out I came across these beautiful trees. Not sure if they are cherry blossoms, but they are just breathtaking in person!

A few more....

Fond Memories

Saturday I went to my mother's house (the house I came home to as a newborn and the house I grew up in) to pick her up for an outing.  My mother is 89 years old. We took some Easter lilies to the graves of four loved ones. There are many others who are no longer with us, but these particular four had extra special meaning.

When I drove up to her house it suddenly seemed so small.  There were some other differences, too. The holly tree that had been in the front yard was gone.  It died of old age or disease several years ago.  It was under that tree that a mockingbird attacked me. Our cat, Nermal, also had an encounter with a bird under that tree. She kept the little knot on her forehead from that skirmish the rest of her life.

In the 'breezeway' is the little pet cemetery of some of the animals we've had through the years, for this house also was the home of my children for many years after I returned 'home' as a young single mother with two little ones.  In addition to Nermal, there is Leon, the beautiful long-haired cat my daughter adopted from the animal shelter.

Behind the 'studio' is Sam, the kitty from next door, who was loved more by my daughter than its owners. There is also Wheat Germ (germy) and Honey, the two little hamsters my daughter had as pets.  And somewhere is Hercules (Hercie) my first ever kitty.  He introduced me to the wonderful world of felines when I was just six years old.

When I drove up and saw the house with the azaleas in full bloom, I thought of all the Easter pictures taken over the decades in front of the blooming azaleas. Those pictures have filled shoe boxes full of other memories of life at Felder Place.  All of these memories flooded me as I drove up to my mother's house for a Saturday outing.

The dark indentation in the lawn is where the holly tree once stood.  There are some gaps in the dwarf azaleas. I remember a solid little hedge of color all along the front planter years ago.