Wisteria
I love wisteria vines, particularly when they are in bloom, as they are right now. My mom had such fondness for them, they reminded her of her Great Aunt Julia (for whom I am named), who had a lovely arbor in her back yard. Growing up, she would always point them out to me. So of course, they make me think of my mom, and also of my Grandma Wells, who had lovely wisteria growing in her back yard as well. The other day I decided that I was going to go in search of wisteria on my walk, and share my pictures with you. The picture above is of the beautiful arbor at a nearby senior living community. It’s my favorite wisteria in the area.
This little wisteria is tucked away in the recycling area of a small office building, one that holds only one or two businesses. I wish you could smell it, it’s heavenly.
Here’s a fence and carport with wisteria growing. This is on one of my walks. There is another fence with a lot of wisteria blooming near a church, but it’s on a busy road, and I didn’t want to cross it to take a picture. And I noticed a huge vine with lovely blooms on the side of the freeway, but of course I wasn’t going to stop and take a picture of that.
Lastly, just keeping it real, here is another picture of the little vine near the office building. Not quite so picturesque with the bins, is it?
Do you enjoy the smell of wisteria? Is it blooming yet in your neck of the woods?
29 Comments
ccr in MA
That’s so pretty! I love to see flowers that pop up all over everywhere. Reminds me of growing up in Massachusetts and how suddenly it’s lilac season and these previously dead-looking bushes are covered in color and putting out the most wonderful scent.
J
Thank you CCinMA! I love them too.
Daria
I am yet to fin wisteria in my neighborhood! But I do love it, especially on a trellis/fence. I’ve never smelled it. We have a pink tree flowering in our neighbor’s yard and I get a whiff every time and it’s delicious!
J
Daria, if you ever see it somewhere where you can get close enough to smell it without trespassing, I highly recommend it.
Elisabeth
So beautiful! Isn’t nature just the best boost for mental health? The colours. The patterns. The smells.
I want to grab a great book, a cup of hot coffee, and go sit on one of those benches under the arbour.
J
Oh, I think if I lived in that complex, I would do just as you say, grab a cup of tea and a book and go relax there.
Ally Bean
Wisteria isn’t around here, or it’s not around here enough to make it memorable. I know the scent from time spent in FL. It is a beautiful vine, for sure.
J
It’s in bloom for such a short time here. Easy to miss, but maybe it doesn’t do well with your winters.
NGS
I’m with Ally. There’s no wisteria around here and I only know what it smells like from candles. LOL. What a life we live. It looks absolutely gorgeous.
J
I wonder what a wisteria candle would smell like, compared to the flowers? Now I want to go buy one.
nance
Oh, my. That first photo is gorgeous. I want so badly to go there.
What is it about Wisteria? I’ve been in love with it my whole life. My grandmother had it growing over her side door, and I found it incredibly beautiful and mysterious, yet homey. I wanted to grow it at our home, but my father was against it–his thing was roses. Roses, roses everywhere.
Here in my own yard, we were warned away from Wisteria–it takes up room, can be destructive and weighty–it clings to structures, takes over other plants. We didn’t have a place for it–to give it what it needed. Sigh.
I haven’t seen Wisteria live in so long. You’re lucky. These photos are bittersweet for me!
J
I hear you Nance. It’s bittersweet for me as well. My mom moved back to California in April the year she died, and she missed Alaska so much. The things she was looking forward to in CA were her family, her friend Kate, farmers markets, and wisteria. She and Kate were going to be roommates together, and Kate has wisteria in her yard. Maybe she saw some from the window, or maybe it had already stopped blooming by the time she arrived, I don’t remember. Wisteria is so poignant to me, I think of what could have been, and the life I wish she had had here. I try to just enjoy it, for her.
Nicole MacPherson
Gosh, what it must be like to live where wisteria blooms! How beautiful. I would love love love wisteria (do deer eat it? This is my new obsession, to find plants that deer hate.)
J
I hadn’t thought of deer, but your question interested me. We are a city in a large metropolitan area, so not a lot of deer wandering around. I googled ‘do dear eat wisteria’, and the answer I got was ‘some deer like it, some don’t.’ How’s that for helpful! If you are in a place where it could survive the winters, someone on the forum I went to suggested getting a product called ‘Liquid Fence’ and spraying it. That will keep them away until the next rain, I guess.
Melissa
My childhood home had a pergola at the back entry covered in wisteria. It is so beautiful when it is in bloom. No wisteria blooming here at the moment, I’m watching the leaves on the trees start to turn.
J
Wisteria is ephemeral, right? The blossoms don’t last long. Enjoy your autumn leaves, they are so beautiful.
Lisa’s Yarns
Like the other midwestern commenters, we do not have wisteria here. It looks beautiful so I wish it grew here. I bet it smells divine. We have lots of lilacs in our neighborhood and they smell so great. I am guessing you probably have lilacs, too. If they survive in MN they can probably grow almost anywhere!!
We were in Florida most of this week and came back to grass that is starting to turn green and trees that are starting to bud. I pointed out the budding trees to the boys on our scoot/walk today and wow they were not impressed! Some springs I don’t notice the budding process, especially before I had kids when I just wasn’t really looking around and taking in life, if that makes sense. Having kids has forced me to slow down and notice things like budding trees or the different flowers that bloom at the start of spring!!
J
We do have lilacs, they are lovely! I think their smell is stronger than wisteria. I feel like I have to get really close to smell wisteria.
Spring is my favorite season. I love when things are turning green, all of the flowers and buds and dainty leaves. I like all four seasons for their own reasons, but in California the other seasons are all brown and dry, so early spring is the best. By June things are definitely drying out.
Margaret
It is beautiful and fragrant; I love purple flowers. It’s not blooming here yet, I don’t think.
J
I love it too! Glad to see you’re back from your vacation. 🙂
San
Oh, wisterias are very pretty. How sweet they remind you of your mom (and grandma). I’ll have to pay attention on my next run.
J
Keep your eyes open San, it’s a short blooming period, but they’re lovely. If it doesn’t ruin your pace, stop and smell it if you can. It’s heavenly.
Tierney
I love wisteria! The Stanford medical campus has gorgeous trellises with mature wisteria. Ephemeral but gorgeous! Your pictures of your local wisteria are beautiful.
J
Thanks Tierney! Yes, ephemeral is right. The wisteria is finished blooming here, just dried up blossoms being taken over by leaves.
Rachel
I love the wisteria on your carport! It looks so magical! I don’t think I see wisteria much over here, it definitely reminds me of California 🙂
J
Thanks Rachel, isn’t that carport lovely? I wish ours had wisteria, though we do have a beautiful oak tree above ours.
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Tobia | craftaliciousme
I have just realized that the court yard and the balconies at my parents apartment complex are completely cocered and immersed in wisteria last week. I may take a picture next time I am over.
I once discovered a wisteria near my old home while I was out on a photo trip. I’ve never knew one before and had to google what it was. Now I really enjoy the sight.
J
The blossoms don’t last long, so it’s easy to miss, but once you see it, it’s so lovely! I’m glad you’ve got some nearby to enjoy.