Wisteria

The latest set of blooms we're getting in the Seattle area is wisteria, which has unmistakable blossom clusters and a penchant to climb. There are several specimens on the walk between work and the house.

Some of these wisteria bloom earlier in the season than others:

Wisteria in tree

Wisteria on arbor

Wisteria over entry

Wisteria on trellis

The wisteria in the evergreen (first picture) is truly spectacular, giving a sense of how large they grow when given the chance. The one on the trellis (last picture) doesn't have many flowers yet, but eventually you'll see them hanging all along the trellis' length. You can even see it climbing a neighboring tree.

We used to have a wisteria in our back yard, but we cut it back every year since it kept wanting to climb up the house. Unfortunately it's hard to get at the root ball at this time, since we also have a of raspberry plants we want to keep for now in the same area. I haven't seen it come back yet this year, so we're definitely gaining on it.

I've always felt a connection to wisteria because Fujimoto means "wistera root". My grandmother's maiden name was Fujii, meaning "wisteria bulb". I was excited when we moved into the house that there was some planted, and sad it was in such a bad location. Unfortunately we don't have a good place to put another one, but for now I'm content with seeing wisteria as I walk around town.