I was going to do wine, but the subject is vast and I suspect many other bloggers will choose this topic. So I am going with this flowering vine which some regard as a weed, because it grows rapidly and can choke out native plants, particularly in the southeastern US. In China and Japan, it’s considered ornamental, and I personally think it’s beautiful.
The vines of Wisteria, which is a member of the pea family, climb by twining around any available support. The pendulous clusters of Wisteria flowers, called racemes, can be purple, violet, pink or white, and have a very mild fragrance; the most fragrant species is Chinese. The vines can climb as high as 20 m above the ground and spread out 10 m laterally. The world’s largest known Wisteria vine is of the Chinese lavender variety. It was planted in Sierra Madre, California, in 1894 and measures more than 1 acre in size and weighs 250 tons.
Purple Wisteria used to cover the back of the old house in which I grew up, and I remember sitting on the back porch, listening to baseball games on the radio and the sound of the bees busying themselves with what the wisteria had to offer. With the sheer amount of wisteria blossoms on our house, you could definitely smell their sweetness, so Wisteria definitely holds some nostalgia for me.
Beautifully said, Noelle. Many streets in L.A. are named Wisteria Lane, or Road, or such, one made famous by the TV show Desperate Housewives, I think.
Love your blog.
Thank you, Sylvia. I will miss your daily writing after this but I think we all need a break. It’s been a true challenge since I’ve been doing the final proof of my first book, but still surprisingly enjoyable. I’m looking forward to checking in with you on a regular basis!
Yes, we had a wisteria on the front of the house I grew up in; my parents grew one as a standard at the next hourse they moved to. I keep wondering why the one at my house now is so huge – maybe it was just the wrong variety. I’m afraid it’s going to have to come down, since it’s pulling the porch down with it 🙁
Jemima at Jemima’s blog