Wednesday 27 May 2009

Wisteria Lane ....and then some!

It's been a wet, windy and chilly few days plus my computer isn't working properly as the internet connection to the house is via a microwave link and has gone intermittently squiffy so, as I've not been able to blog, email OR garden reliably, I decided to cheer myself up with a few photos of the wisteria at the front of the house as it has slowly blossomed (in spite of the weather!) whilst the computer is actually working - hope it doesn't pack up half way through!
Enjoy!
The first hints of blooms begin to show.



The Wisteria has gradually sent out shoots to climb the drainpipe near the front door. It's a bit more sheltered there so they have bloomed slightly earlier than the main bush.


The pre-blooms look feathery-soft.

A single self-set poppy peeps through the fronds.


Up close and personal.

The Wisteria in full bloom.
The scent has been wonderful this year - if I could bottle it, I'd wear it all year round. I know many people love the fragrances of Lilac and Lavender - so do I, but Wisteria in full bloom beats them hands down!
I've had all the windows open on dry days and the perfume has drifted gently in filling the house with its glorious perfume. It is so evocative of warm Spring days ......if only we'd had more of them this year! (if only we had smell-o-blog so that you could share the scent!)


The blooms are beautiful even in the rain.


I love the raindrops on the petals.


Even I can eventually have enough photos of Wisteria, so here are a few different plants and flowers to delight the eye.



An Azalea just opening up - on yet another rainy day!


The same bush a few days later ....and sunny!
The Labernum trees have been fantastic this year too. I think they must have liked the long cold spell.

In the back garden, just above and to the East of the house.

Senetti glowing and brightening up a dark, shady bed.
Plants and ornaments waiting to be planted into the Japanese Garden. Their time will come!

22 comments:

Rob (ourfrenchgarden) said...

Hi Liz

Well your weather's on the mend. Warm by the weekend according to the BBC.

I so should have planted wisteria but didn't.

I bought some senetti last year. It was so bright when I saw it in the plant fairs.

Rob

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

I love your wisteria, it looks so pretty in front of your house. I have a rhodie that looks similar to your azalea, it's blooming too now.
Hope it dries up and your internet gets working properly again.

O.I.M said...

it all looks lovely. wisteria is one of my dream plants...one of these days I'll plant one, I always say. until then I have to be content to enjoy them in other people's gardens. lucky you.
irena

Phoenix C. said...

Beautiful! I can imagine the fragrance drifting in.

The Azalea 'Klondyke' here has just come into bloom, and the fragrance is out of this world!

Shady Gardener said...

I cannot grow wisteria here... but I'll surely take time to enjoy your blossoms! Want to post again soon??
The Laburnum tree is something I've never seen. It looks so tropical!

nilla|utanpunkt said...

Wisterias are amazing. I have just visited Nymans, and they had a seriously long pergola totally covered in Wisteria....

LisaColónDeLay said...

It's always a pleasure to see what you have blooming. Your garden is a treasure you share with the world. I have a link to your site from ours.

Please remember to vote for our mystery gnome.
http://thegreatungnome.wordpress.com

Pat said...

Senetti is beautiful.
Didn't realize how pretty Wisteria flowers could be. Heard it takes many years before it flowers.

Grizz………… said...

I'd love to put out wisteria if I thought I'd be around to see it bloom. I'd never heard of (nor seen) senetti in bloom. That would great in some many of my darker corners.

Lovely post.

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi everyone - thanks for all your lovely comments. Sorry it's taken me a while to reply but t'internet has been down again! We're getting a 'proper' ADSL link on Wednesday, so normal service (and speed) should be resumed then.

Rob - you were right about the weather, it's been glorious all weekend! You so should plant some wisteria too.

Catherine - I can't wait until Wednesday. The intermitent internet problem has been SUCH a pain - I hadn't realised quite how much I rely on it and am used to it just being there ready to go at full speed. I've been spoiled!

Irena - feel free to share my wisteria whenever you want to! I'll give it a little trim this week and get a second bloom in a few weeks time - more scent!!!

Phoenix C - I haven't come across 'Klondyke' and, although we have loads of different azaleas, NONE of them have any scent. I'll have to look out for that one.

Shady - poor you not being able to grow wisteria. How come? Is it too cold? The Labernum may look tropical because of its glorious colour, but the flowers are poisenous. It's very common in the UK. I have to confess that I don't know if it's native though! We've got 3 up that side of the garden - with the topmost one being over the pond in the japanese garden - it's going to look fantastic as it arches over the tea house roof. Must check if it's poisenous to fish...?!

Camellia - I've heard about the Nymans pergola, it sounds amazing! I'll get to see it one day!

Wit4life - welcome and give my best wishes to Trevor the Gnome!I've linked to your blog too as I love to see what Trevor and Fitzgerald are up to!

Patsi - I think wisteria do take a long time to get established, but we are enjoying thes scent and beauty of someone else's endeavours! I know our wisteria is old, but have no idea how to tell how old it is! The previous owner left us careful instructions about what to do and when to feed it - which I promptly lost, so it's been left to its own devices for the last 8 years and still looks wonderful!

Scribe - I should put out some wisteria anyway, you never know...! As for the senetti, I only came across them last year. They come in a very bright candy pink too and really do make dark and shady corners zing out! I bought this as a potted plant, but I'll look out for some seeds for you!

joey said...

Your photos are beautiful ~ your wisteria, devine! Raining here today ... can use time to heal severe gardening ankle sprain :) Happy June Gardening!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Joey - poor you - I feel your pain! Take care of that ankle and remember PRICE:

Pain relief
Rest
Ice (20 mins max)
Compression
Elevation

Trust me, this works - I badly damaged my achilles tendon about 3 years ago falling in a fox scrape in the garden. PRICE was recommended by my physio and it really works! I still have some problems from time to time (when I've been kneeling and scrauming around in the soil a lot!) and it still does the trick every time!

I'll pop this over on your blog too so that you've got it close at hand - or ankle!:)

HappyMouffetard said...

Beautiful photos - the wisteria is delightful.

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi HM, nice to see you. Glad you like the wisteria ....and I do think my photography is slowly improving too as a result of doing this blog!

Carolynn Anctil said...

Wisteria always feels like an older woman in a faded summer dress, to me. Very understated and genteel. I love the last photo with the sculpture.

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi carolynn, I'd never thought of wisteria like that before, but I so get what you mean!

The sculpture is a bit of a cheat actually! It's made in resin and I bought in the local supermarket for a tenner (£10 = $5.50ish!)Bargain!

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Wow, what amazing color in your garden! I love the "time lapse" photos of the wisteria. So pretty, and hopefully they smell nice, too!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Monica - I'm glad you like the photos. I think that seeing other people's pictures has inspired me to take more myself - and to take greater care to get a good quality shot instead of just the 'point and shoot'that I usually do!

Pat said...

Wisteria blooms are so pretty.
I see them more in roadside wooded areas around here but one neighbor has them on an arbor and wow it stops me everytime I drive by.
You have really cool windows in front of your house...like the style.

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Patsi - I'm glad you like the windows! The house is a 1920's Arts and Crafts style house with the majority of the original features still intact. We're so lucky to live here and the wisteria is an added bonus!:)

Garden Lily said...

I didn't know wisteria was fragrant... I love the look of wisteria, but was scared off it by stories I read of it tearing off gutters and destroying supports which are not strong enough to hold it... I may reconsider, if they are fragrant. Thanks.

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Garden Lily. Wisteria has a beautiful scent and is well worth planting. You just have to keep it pruned so that it doesn't go mad, then it's fine! I'd say go for it!