It is just like Christmas for me when the wisteria bloom — it nearly makes up for all the sneezing and red eyes that the other plants of spring bring to us here in Dallas. Whether or not it is a function of soil, sun, or skill, I saw a few blooms as early as 2.5 weeks ago (April fool’s day) when mine were still budding. There were a few holdouts in the neighborhood (I don’t want to mention any specific intersections) but at this point all the vines visible to me have sprouted leaves — so blooming for the year is a done deal.
I am very happy to have been blessed with lovely flowers. And yet I still have lots to learn, because my flowers were obscured visually by sprouting green leaves. The better gardeners know a special trick to get the flowers to plump out first. Fortunately the neighborhood bees had no problem finding my blooming vine. I am happy to donate the raw materials for honey whenever I possibly can.
In my Lake Highlands travels I did note one live but non-blooming Wisteria growing behind the popular restaurant Offshore’s Nextdoor at Walnut Hill and Audelia. Apparently the vine has bloomed in the past because it bears many seed pods from a previous bloom. A few weeks ago I noticed the bare vine and I wondered if it was so neglected it might not come back this year. (No offense to the restaurant’s management, who are busy cooking, I am sure.) Today I drove past and observed that (happily!) the vine has sprouted many green leaves and shoots. No flowers, however.
If I didn’t know how many hours my own vines require in pruning, I might adopt the vine behind Offshore’s Nextdoor. If anybody reading is looking for a random act of kindness that would positively affect bees, people, and plants in spring of 2011, the pruning will need to start in June of ’10.
Happy spring!
