Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Wisteria

You know that Spring is here to stay when the Wisteria begins to bloom.

Wisteria is a flowering plant belonging to the "pea family," and its vines climb by twining their stems around any available support. They can climb as high as 65 feet above ground and spread out 33 feet laterally. Although not as invasive as and prettier than kudzu (also known as "the vine that ate the South), Wisteria does have a tendency to cover everything within the reach of the tentacles of its vines.

The world's largest known Wisteria vine is located in Sierra Madre, California, measuring more than one acre in size and weighing 250 tons!

Sierra Madre is known for its annual Wistaria Festival (an alternative spelling of Wisteria), which celebrates its 116-year-old Wisteria vine. The plant was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest blooming plant and one of the seven horticultural wonders of the world. The annual festival is the one day a year the vine, which is on private property, can be viewed.

The Wisteria is in full bloom in Mississippi now, and I'd like to share some pictures I took yesterday along the Natchez Trace between Clinton, Mississippi and Jackson. If you click on the pictures, you can see the details of the exquisite petals that make up the graceful flower clusters.

The Natchez Trace is at its loveliest this time of year, and if you are close enough to explore it, I hope you will take the time, especially while the Wisteria is in bloom. I promise you won't be disappointed.

6 comments:

Stacey said...

Beautiful! I've seen some of the wisteria beginning to bloom here.

We have a white wisteria planted on our pergola and for some reason it has never bloomed. Maybe one of these days!

Do you have hummingbirds yet?

Loui♥ said...

Janie..
Being Southern born and bred..
I too have an affinity for Wisteria..
The shades of purple ranging from dark to the most delicate, lavenders..
punctuated by spring green leaves..
sprawling, wrapping, entwining..
all with such a beautiful, intoxicating aroma..
Wisteria..in the spring time..
this tells my Southern senses..
you are truly.. home..
Love your photos..
warmest hugs..
Loui♥

PAT said...

These are gorgeous Janie.

Our friends, who winter in South Padre, decided to come home, through Mississippi. I convinced them to see Vicksburg. They enjoyed their trip. JoAnn told me they saw the beautiful Wisteria. They just got home yesterday.

Blondie's Journal said...

Janie~~~

I love this post. I just planted Wisteria for the first time last year and so I found this to be very informative. Already it has miniature flower pods!

xoxo
Jane

Tonja said...

There is just no scent as heady! Just a whiff can take me back to days gone by. We used to have a great big vine on the telephone pole near the street I lived on as a child. I have always loved the look and smell of the wisteria!

Manu & Done said...

I adore wisteria, my mother had a plant, but she said she hasn't seen a flower, ever.
A gardener told us to cut a brunch from an old plant in winter and try with it !!
We hope we will post such beautiful photos too !!
Kisses from Bologna, Italy

Sorry for my bad english!!