Scent of the Season!

  No matter how I try to believe spring has arrived, it is never a sure thing until the wisteria blooms.  As soon as I catch a whiff of the sweet aroma coming from the three arbors that bear the vines, I am quite assured that winter is far behind.  A cool snap (as Mom used to call them) or the Easter Freeze (another of her terms) might well pop in for a visit but the long term winter is a thing of the past.  (At least for the time being!) This makes me happy if for no other reason than the scents of the season.

  As I mentioned, the wisteria arbors are weighted down with the long lavender or white racemes.  I have both varieties of the vine.  Two of the arbors are loaded with lavender flowers while the other is just beginning to be claimed by the white.  All three vines were ones that I literally scavenged from other places. Since it takes seemingly forever for a seedling wisteria to bloom, it is best to either find a naturally rooted vine and transplant it or root a cutting from an adult vine.  Mine were all found as young plants that had rooted themselves from a drooping limb of a mature vine.  As a word of warning, though, do not plant a wisteria unless you have the time to care for it.  These things can take over the place it allowed to grow unrestrained!  Left growing to wild abandon, a vine will soon cover any and everything in its path! Make sure to keep it well trimmed and do not allow sections of the vine to reach the ground.  Otherwise, you will spend most of the spring yanking out those newly rooted plants and, trust me, this "ain't no easy job".  (Yes, I know...poor grammar.)

  I did discover something new this spring unless it is purely my imagination.  The fragrance surrounding the white wisteria arbor is far greater than that of the lavender even though there are fewer blooms. The scent has such a enticing effect that I never want to leave the arbor.  I have even gone so far as to threaten to string a hammock between the posts and sleep under the stars with the glorious scent! Ok, that threat went out the window with the thought of gnats and mosquitoes eating me alive!  I will have to be satisfied with what little scent is wafted through the open windows each night.  So folks that are still dealing with winter, I wish I could send you a sprig of wisteria to brighten your day.  Soon, very soon, you will be seeing signs of lovely spring at your place!