Wisteria

My husband and I go down to Longwood Gardens outside Philadelphia almost every year at this time, trying to catch the Wisteria in bloom.  But we're always a bit too early or late.  Until last weekend!

The only way I could try to describe these later was bridal: the tiers and layering like wedding cakes, the long, drooping racemes like silk veils or satin trains.  But this leaves out nature, the angling of each bloom to maximize light, the thickening and twisting trunk to support the vines, the glorious color and baby-powder scent.

The next day we went to Winterthur, another magnificent garden about twenty minutes south of Longwood, where we caught the azalea and rhododendron in full-bloom.  They ran through the woods in great swaths of coral, magenta, lavender, and white, all reaching well above our heads as we walked.  In the shot below, the long, bare trunks of ancient oak and tulip poplar dwarf the azaleas, which are really about eight feet tall.  The canopy of these magnificent trees forms an extra roof over the lower, bushier beech and sycamore, sealing in and amplifying the liquid calls of woodthrushes. 

These long expanses of trunk are a rare sight in our country of second- and third-growth forests.  Their contours show the simultaneous forces of balance and stretch towards the light, readable in swells and indentations that look like well-worked sinews down a forearm or calf.  We move the same way, so the trunks feel familiar, like old friends who listen well.          

            

Comments

[Cowtown Pattie]

We cut down our wisteria tree last year due to several reasons, and these photos make me "wistful".

I see Rapunzel in those cascading blossoms.

Beautiful photos, but could you please add a scratch and sniff button? (Wouldn't do me much good as I have no sense of smell, but one can always hope!)

[Chancy]

The Wisteria photos bring back pleasant memories of my childhood. One of my favorite things was the beautiful Wisteria vines that grew up a massive tree on the lot line between us and the next door neighbors. It seemed magical to me.

[bill]

Incredible

[Tabor]

We also caught the wisteria in full bloom a few years ago when the kids took me on a surprise Mother's Day trip up that way. They are breathtaking and you look as pleased as can be.

[Terri]

Your photos are spectacular! Thanks for sharing with us. The Wisteria almost doesn't look real. You certainly captured it perfectly. I love Wisteria, but I don't think it would grow in this climate. Not sure and I'll have to find out.

[Digital Rodney]

Nice Pictures! I need to get my other half to read this. She spent a week working at Longwood Gardens. She is a gardener here at the White River Gardens in Indianapolis. I know she would love to go back and visit again!

Thanks!!

[joared]

The wisteria in your photos is spectacular. The pictures in my mind created by your descriptive words equally so.

[Naomi Dagen Bloom]

so victorian--that was my response to these elegantly dropping trees. they cry out for long-skirted women with waist-coated men holding books of poetry. wonderful!

[Amy]

Wow! I had no idea. And I grew up about half an hour from Longwood Gardens. And I lived on Wisteria Dr. in Chapel Hill. It's a wonder they don't topple over from sheer floral weight.

[Maureen]

Very cool pics.

[Maureen]

Very cool pics.

[Jay Robbins]

Thank you for sharing, they are a magnificent tree!! We have just moved into a new home and I am sure that I have scored one in the back yard. it is is not doing so well, but I am talking to it, Cheers Jay