Wisteria

The first time I was conscious of the wisteria plant was the spring of 1971. I was living in Nice, and on the other side of the Route de Fabron there was a winding dirt road leading to a farmhouse. It was lined with an ancient stone wall, covered with wisteria. Behind it were mimosa trees that hung over the wisteria and the road.



I planted one in 1981 in front of our first house on Rosedale Street in Rochester and it bloomed madly the first year. It still blooms. We sold the house in 1983 when we planned to move to Japan to teach English. Which we didn't do. We moved to Aldine Street in the Nineteenth Ward instead, and planted a redbud tree and a wisteria. The redbud is magnificent. The wisteria never bloomed, and I was told my first one had been beginner's luck.

We moved to Melrose Street in 1991 but it was not until 2003 that I asked Adair to buy a wisteria. I'd decided if this one didn't flower I'd dig it up and forget it. The first year it had three flowers. Last year it was respectable. This is the wisteria against Marilyn and Cy's garage, with one of their lilacs in the background.