Friday, April 1, 2016

Clambering up the arbor, a story continues . . . . . . .




The flowers are beautiful right now - seemingly a deeper blue than in other years.
My one and only wisteria, dancing in the Spring breezes, the blooms so fragrant.
The leaves are now opening. . . . .eventually they will envelope the little arbor we built
 for this once very tiny potted plant which I inherited from a long ago dear friend.



Note the thick pollen covering the roof of the gazebo - sneezing has reached
 its peek here in the southeast!


Flowers on a newly planted wisteria can be a long time coming, often up
to seven years!  Patience definitely is a virtue, followed by pruning
to keep this wandering, often invasive, vine in check.

HERE is the story of my wisteria, a most beautiful memory
 of my special friend Julie. 



If you are a gardener you've probably received pass-along plants from
 friends and neighbors. 
I'd love to hear stories of your special gifts which are popping up in this new
 and lovely season of the year.

19 comments:

  1. Mary,

    I read your post from long ago about your planting of the wisteria and the loss of your precious friend. I am so sorry you lost Julia. Your wild vine must remind you often of your special friend. It really is beautiful, Mary. I have it growing like crazy at the lakehouse. I was warned how fast it grew and how invasive it could become. The flowers surprised me after three years and now we are going on seven years and I am afraid to see how it is now after not being there for a whole year. Trimming was a whole day job for me each summer. Gosh..it must have eaten the house by now. :(

    Thank you for a lovely story. I hope you and Bob are keeping up with what spring brings us in all of its glory!

    Love and huge hugs,

    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely, lovely views of your garden, Mary. I mostly get succulents to propagate, I love them.
    Amalia
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am now suffering from wisteria envy, Mary! I planted two in France and it did take several years before they flowered really well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I see why the wisteria holds a special place in your heart. The blues are extraordinary. I am only sorry that pollen is part of the process of the garden coming to life...achoo! Does local honey help? We couldn't get along without it when our pollen season comes (around Memorial Day).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good Mornin' Mary: What a beautiful story of friendship. Julie must be watching over your garden as the flowers grow and bloom each spring. Being amongst the wisteria must bring back fine memories of your dear friend. It looks like heaven on earth there. So nice to look at your photos while I have my first coffee. Here it is dark and rainy...not a flower in sight. Oh.......there goes Simon. lol Deb

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's so nice when a plant, shrub or tree came via a special fiend, even though I'm sure she is always in your thoughts. but now even more as you are admiring and enjoying the beautiful Wisteria blooms on your arbour. I've struggled with trying to grow Wisteria in my garden in France, to no avail.... all leaves and no flowers even though I've pruned it as the books instructions. So I've now given up. Yours is a beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I do love wisteria. I've many, but one we had to dig out and it took years to do that. It grew everywhere and thick and took over the gold fish pond area, runners underground. It seems sometimes the things you want to stay in one place take over. I had a friend whose wisteria grew into her attic and yes, it does take a long time to flower. Where I live, some years the freeze gets the flowers, but they are so beautiful. Wish the ones along the fence would take off like the one by the pond did.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh how gorgeous your wisteria is, Mary! I love how it drapes over the gazebo. I have never seen or smelled it before! One of the first plants to come up in my garden is the purple iris that came from my husband's aunt. The leaves poke through in May then the blooms burst out in June. That will be a while yet! Also, I have poppies from my neighbour that poke through early but we also have to wait for them to bloom in June. It is a waiting game here for sure. Have a lovely weekend. xx Pam

    ReplyDelete
  9. SO, judging from your post back in 2010 that would make this Wisteria about 12 years old now, right? It has done so well. Beautiful indeed and what a lovely ongoing memory and tribute to your friend, Julie. It really is stunning as is your entire garden really with the gazebo, etc. I'm so glad you had a chacne to know this New Yorker. I have several friends at least 25 year older who I love dearly. In fact, like wine, they seem to get more interesting and wonderful as time goes by. :) Great post.

    Sorry, no plant stories really.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Mary! Your wisteria and overall your garden are just spectacular! Just gorgeous! The wisteria makes me want to have some in our garden.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The vibrant colour of your Wisteria is incredible Mary!
    Spring has well and truly sprung in your garden - have you and Bob got a new spring in your step too? I wouldn't be at all surprised!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't know about 'a spring in my step' - right now dear I'm overwhelmed by far too many things requiring attention! Life has become far too busy! Even my blog - and commenting on others - is having to take a back seat for a while.
      Mary -

      Delete
  12. I love wisteria and have been impatiently waiting for its arrival this spring....seems late this year but finally last week it made its appearance!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. From another friend named Julie - we can't grow wisteria up here, which makes me very envious. Wisteria seems to me to be a very romantic plant!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lovely to hear from you, another lovely Julie!
      Driving around town yesterday it was amazing to see so much wild wisteria now in bloom - yards and yards of lavender blue dangling flowers hanging from the trees along the roadsides. Yes, it's another of those invasive plants here in the south - fortunately mine is the domesticated type and quite easy to prune back before it gets too naughty!!!

      Julie dear - hope all is well with you. Happy Spring.
      Hugs - Mary

      P.S. I read about your tree a couple of days ago - I'll stop by again and leave a comment. Life is much too hectic!

      Delete
  14. I can almost smell it from here. It is the loveliest plant and I so enjoyed the story of how you got the small plant. What a glorious thing to sit in the gazebo surrounded by all that beauty and sweetness.

    ReplyDelete
  15. So beautiful!! What a fabulous show! Enjoy spring, dear friend. xoxo, L

    ReplyDelete
  16. I can't think of a nicer way to remember your dear friend. I imagine good memories take place each year when that gorgeous wisteria is in bloom.
    We are seeing a lot of them in our neighborhood winding their way through the trees on some of the empty lots. The smell is heavenly. The other night my husband and I were walking by one of these areas and he stopped in his tracks and said "we need to get you some wisteria perfume." Ha! Maybe I should look into that.

    ReplyDelete

I would enjoy reading your comment - thanks so much for stopping by.