Welcome heavy rain fell today. Down with the rain came the glorious faded purple wisteria blossoms. It looked as if it had snowed on the terrace.
The wisteria is planted against the house on one side of the large dining room. The base of its trunk is enormous, knotted and ancient looking. It snakes along the ground, around the corner of the building, along under a French window, around another corner and then up onto a pergola. The pergola looks a little frail under its weight.
The base of the wisteria.
The snaking trunk starting its climb onto the pergola.
A neighbour I had when I lived in West Hobart told me that she wouldn’t plant a wisteria on her house, because she was afraid it would engulf her small cottage entirely.
I know what she means. It’s so beautiful though. I think my favourite wisteria time is when some of the blossoms are out and some are yet to come. The purple is brighter when the flowers are new. In New Norfolk the wisteria blooms on bare branches, while the one I had when I lived in Hobart usually flowered together with the unfurling of its leaves. I noticed the one in the Hobart botanical gardens had leaves with its flowers this year also. I think it must be the cooler winter which makes the wisteria flower without leaves.