A love of Wisteria

Welcome to what I think is one of the prettiest moments in my garden. I took a series of photos this year to show you our wisteria as it comes into bloom. My husband and I both love this blossom not only for the pretty almost grape~like flowers hanging heavily from its vine but also for its sweet fragrance.

One unusual thing this year is the blooms appeared a bit faster than the hedges started to turn to leaf. Last year, it seems they were father along with leaves.

We had unusually warm and sunny weather in April which made the season for our wisteria blossom come quickly.

The Victorians acknowledged a language of flowers. Well choosen flowers spoke in a 'hidden' language. You could convey a message through a bouquet. Wisteria means 'welcome' so what could be better than having a vine draped around our front door.

Within one week's time, the blossoms started to fill out and the leaves finally started to appear on our red beech hedge.

A view from one of the upstairs windows down onto the pergola.

The flowers and fragrance peek but it is short lived at the most normal of times and this year even more so. We had much wind the last weekend of April and our wisteria took a battering.....

.....and all too quickly, this is the result. I do hope we have the good fortune of seeing extra blossoms yet this summer as we did last year. We had three rounds of flowering, although the first round in the spring is the fullest.

Zen poem:

Alone in my zazen

I forget the days

As they pass.

The wisteria has grown

Thick over the eaves

Of my hut. ~~ Muso (1275-1351)