What a beautiful spring day....
Yesterday was one of those days I just had to come home and ENJOY! I had a ton of work I could do (and should do) at the apartments, but I just had to take a day to enjoy! Lay in the swing and read a good book....cook my family a good meal (see here for today's simple but awesome dinner) and just soak in the wonderfulness of spring!
While I was laying in the swing reading I looked up and to my surprise there is the most beautiful cluster of lavender flowers on my wisteria.
I have written about the nightmare of wisteria before...but for all it's "pain" it really can be beautiful and provide an abundance of shade over the pergolas. But one of the reasons it is such a nightmare is because it grows soooo fast and just seems to take over! I have had to pull it out of my house siding and cut it out of the trees on several occasions. This is a picture of the porch pergola from a few years ago...and this is AFTER I thought I had really trimmed it back....ha! You trim a little, and the thing just goes mad!
My wisteria rarely blooms. The wisteria on the two swing pergolas just don't get enough sun but they create a nice little canopy, as long as I can keep it in check and out of the pine trees. I assumed the wisteria on the big pergola covering my back porch rarely bloomed because it was just too "lush." I have always heard that if they have lots of green foliage, they probably won't produce flowers.
But what I read today when I googled WHY I suddenly had a proliferation of blooms is that in order to get them to bloom, you have to prune them SEVERELY. Which, in a fit of frustration with the monster's manic growth, I just happened to do this year....to the point I was a tad worried I might have done some serious damage! But what I actually did was force it to bloom like crazy!
Who woulda thought!
I would seriously caution anyone who considers planting wisteria...it is HIGH maintenance! Be prepared to have to trim it twice a year and read up on it as much as you can BEFORE planting. There is a reason it is called "the bully of the garden." If not properly and regularly pruned, or planted in the wrong place, it can indeed become a nightmare!
And while the flowers won't last long, they are beautiful...and I can honestly say, I am grateful for the shade canopy the plant provides during the summer!
Simon the tabby was enjoying the lazy day with me! He is such a sweetie!
