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Beautiful Wisterias

May 6th, 2009

I didn’t realize that D.C. was a zone 7, many plants that are annuals here in Ohio are perennials in D.C. It’s so interesting how hardiness zones work. My front yard is almost a zone ahead of my back yard because of the slope of the lot and the amount of sun it gets. I’ve had tropical vines overwinter there during a mild winter.
wisteria-blossom
While in D.C. last week we enjoyed the wisteria. Here in Ohio the wisteria often gets frozen out like so many spring blooms.
wisteria-vine
They had wisterias planted on almost every wall in Washington, they really are a beautiful way to accent an old building. You could tell by the vines that they were very old. Some of the ones we saw had vines the size of tree trunks they were so old. They were HUGE (Mr Chiots took this photo of me taking a photo so you could see how big they were).
photographing-wisteria-in-dc2
The wisteria at Arlington was blooming quite profusely as you can see by this photo.
tons-of-wisteria-blossoms
I’ve always loved wisterias but have never gotten one. I have so many other vines I’d like to grow (a hydrangea vine for one) that I don’t know if I’ll ever find room in my small garden for one.
walking-under-the-wisteria-arbor

What’s your favorite flowering vine?

15 Comments to “Beautiful Wisterias”
  1. Mangochild on May 6, 2009 at 5:07 am

    A whole zone ahead between your front and back garden, wow. Though I guess the sun really does have a lot of power in there, right? I’m not really familiar with flowering vines, but I do like jasmine and corkscrew flowers….

    Mangochild’s last blog post.. Local Volunteering: Week 1 at Auer Farm

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  2. ChristyACB on May 6, 2009 at 5:47 am

    The wisteria are beautiful, but they have escaped cultivation here and can be found all over. Better than kudzu. ;)

    I have to fight invasive vines here tooth and nail. It is a constant battle too, against multiflora rose, japanese honeysuckle, greenbriar and a few others. So I’m not fond of vines at all now. So, my favorite vines are pumpkin, tomato and other large squashes. They flower. ;)

    ChristyACB’s last blog post.. Blissful Moment

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  3. kristin on May 6, 2009 at 6:55 am

    I love trellised flowering plants. I must admit to a fondness for bougainvillea, which grows EVERYWHERE in southern Arizona. Mostly the shocking pink variety, which is my favorite.

    kristin’s last blog post.. My Love Affair

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  4. Silke on May 6, 2009 at 7:54 am

    I love wisteria as well! We see them here growing like a weed and blooming everywhere in early spring. Right now, the jasmine is blooming and all of Savannah seems to be beautifully scented!

    Silke’s last blog post.. Wings and Flowers

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  5. Sande on May 6, 2009 at 7:58 am

    Those wisteria vines are incredible. We never see it like that here (Michigan). Your photos are beautiful. Glad you had an interesting trip.

    Sande’s last blog post.. Isn’t It Pretty?

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  6. warren on May 6, 2009 at 10:00 am

    I like wisteria and it is in bloom all over here now! We have English ivy too…it doesn’t bloom but we hate it! And we hate kudzu too…gosh…so much hate! Anyhow, vines mostly frustrate me! but wisteria are beautiful!

    warren’s last blog post.. My First Wife

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  7. Liz - aka Nutty Gnome on May 6, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    Wow, what fantastic wisteria!
    I have one just coming into bloom outside my living room window and the smell is glorious. It’s about 40 years old and I need to take a few cuttings to see if I can get it to take in the back garden.

    I wandered into your blog from …….. heaven only knows where, I sort of got lost in the blogosphere! I have really enjoyed reading your posts, so it was a happy accident when I came across you.

    Thank you.

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    • Susy on May 6, 2009 at 8:36 pm

      Thanks for stopping by. I always love stumbling upon blogs via comments from others.

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  8. The Prudent Homemaker on May 6, 2009 at 1:42 pm

    Wisteria always makes me think of the old vines I would see in France. They grew in tiny city gardens, at the top of the walls. They often had most of their flowers hanging down on the outside of the wall. So, if you have a tiny garden, it can be done.

    My walls are covered with espaliered apples and pears, sugar snap peas, blackberries, and grapes. It’s a bit hot for wisteria here from what I’ve heard.

    I do have a spot for climbing roses in my yard, though. They’ll produce in spring and fall here (it’s so hot in summer that they stop in summer).

    I like wisteria, though. Mu husband proposed to me under a flowering wisteria.

    Reply to The Prudent Homemaker's comment

    • Susy on May 6, 2009 at 8:37 pm

      I love espaliered trees. I really want to do a couple pear or apple trees on my garage wall.

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  9. Shreela on May 6, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    Thanks for the reminder I need to hack away at this invasive vine. I hope it never warms up in the northern areas that wysteria becomes invasive there too. I do like to pretend I’m a basket weaver with the vines though.

    Shreela’s last blog post.. Raised bed garden started

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  10. Jenny @ NourishedKitchen on May 6, 2009 at 4:11 pm

    I love wysteria too. It has an old-school romanticism about it. We don’t see it too often where I live, though.

    Jenny @ NourishedKitchen’s last blog post.. How to Choose an Organic Raw Milk Dairy

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  11. Dan on May 6, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    They really are Beautiful Wisterias. My Grandpa has a really nice one growing here in zone 5, I think some varieties are much hardier then others.

    Dan’s last blog post.. Garden Update

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  12. deedee on May 6, 2009 at 10:19 pm

    those are awesome pictures.. especially the last two. i love the one with the tulips on the ground :) we have a poison ivy or something poison growing on our building… that’s the only vine we have right now! and it won’t be there long:)

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  13. Jessalynn on May 7, 2009 at 6:23 pm

    I love the wisteria too… every year for me it marks that summer will surely be coming soon.
    I am in zone 7 and Wisterian is definitely my favorite vine. I am thinking about planting some in my gardens, but I’ve heard it can take up to 10years to bloom.

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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