Clare...we are planning a trip for Sept. to Ft. Collins to visit family! CO. is a beautiful state !!
What Brugs Are Blooming Now
I misunderstood, for some reason, I thought MO. I love Colorado - it's about as different from CA as apples/oranges - I enjoy the different parts of the country as much as I enjoy brugs and Goldens...
If you saw it now, you would all run as fast as you can. It is not only a mess but such a soggy mess. I need a long week in the back yard alone to get it into shape.
I have them all in the ground except one that is in a 20 gallon pot. I bought it last year at the end of the bloom cyycle for half price at Regans, a great nursery here. It was a beautiful huge pink standard. I had just lost mine and could not resist it for $79. It was so big. Of course I have no place to put it now and even if I did the hole would have to be dug so big unless I got it in right now while it is still dormant and I could cut off half the roots.
Here is one that a neighbor has. Half way thru the bloom last year, they all just curled up and died just like my pink one did. I think the vine is dead. I see they still have it planted. I am watching it eagerly hoping it comes back.
Wow, beautiful Wisterias.
Oh I have a wisteria to show you all. I found this a few years ago in the town of Niles which has the best little Victorian houses. I drove by a barn that was just covered in wisteria blooms. I have never seen so many. I drove around the corner to see where they were coming from. A little house on the side road had a wisteria tree that was just so amazing. It had grown to the back off their property to the barn to the house behind it. The trunk was so thick.
Is this not amazing?
Unfortunately, I did not get a pic of the barn. It was behind the house and i just didn't have the nerve to walk that far in on their property to take pictures. But this is a bigger pic of the one I just posted. You can see the growth going backwards. There was so much more of it that you can't see, a massive vine.
WOW, kell...looks like I will need to go and visit Niles !!! Beautiful !!!
Here is a photo of my wisteria tree from 2004...it is just beginning to open now...
Beautiful, Margie.
Wow, Kell. That's a big trunk.
Just gorgeous Margie. Mine are not near ready to open. You must be much warmer already than I am!! What variety is that? Cooke's Purple?
Yes, go to Niles downtown. Drive on the parallel street to the south side of the Niles Blvd., the main drag. I think it is J street, 1 block up from Niles Blvd behind all the stores, you will see this great old house on the corner. It has the biggest old wisteria I have ever seen. It must have been planted when the house was built over 100 years ago. It travels all over the yard and across the front of the house on little runners from the main trunk. And it also goes 4 stories up a tree on the side yard. The first time I saw it years ago, I thought it was a huge wisteria tree.
Here it is from the side yard. See the huge trunk lying sideways across the walk way? That is the wisteria trunk. From it, skinny little runners come out from it and vine all over. Unfortunately, there are huge sections of it that are hollow. So I do not know how many more years it will survive.
These photos are to die for!
I am soooo wisteria challenged
The one I had for year I finally chopped to the ground
In all the years I had it it never bloomed
tried all the tricks,prune,root prune,beating the trunk....etc...(out of fustration)
I have a pink one that is now 4 years old ,trying to train it to a standard but it keeps dying back to the ground every winter
Last year I bought a supposed variegated one on ebay.I have it in a pot in the GH.I let it stay outside the first half of the winter and then brought it in.Its just starting to leaf out...
I don't think I'll ever see a bloom..........
My Mom had a gorgeous one at her old house and I have seen others with them blooming in this area so I know it can be done.They just don't like me I think.......LOL
kell...I don't know what variety mine is...I bought it before I was into names!
Thank you for the location of the wisteria in Niles...when do you think it will be open?
I have a good idea...how would you like to meet in Niles....we could tour together!? Let me know...I would love to meet you! and I have never really visited the town...I would love to see that too!
Margie
Just thought I'd show you our 2 year Golden baby, Blueray, in his cement pond. Since I've had Lefty (broken ankle), my hubby retrieves him in the pool, to get his coat wet (very thick coat), so I can skip the wetting part when I groom him, I go straight to the shampoo, rinse and then Crown Royale. Blueray LOVES being groomed, and loves retrieving Jello, his yellow ball...
A cutey Sherry!!!
Good lord Clare! YOUR KILLING ME! Your gardens are beautiful! I don't even have a daffodil open yet! I did find a few crocus that flowered over the weekend. I have got to get to a warmer climate so I can extend my growing season. I'm so so envious Clare. WAAAHHH!
Thank you for the lovely pictures. Even though it is truly painful to watch, it's nice to know someone is getting to play in the garden.
To give you an idea of how far off my season is...I'm just now planting my seeds, taking new cuttings and sorting new bulbs. And I'm doing all this just to get a jump on the season here so my gardens will be full as soon as weather allows!
Life is not fair, it'sa circus;)
Looking great Clare, Jeff
Kell, that wisteria with the thick trunk is truly breathtaking, and the blooms are to die for. I've never heard of Niles. I will have to look into it. That one picture is so lovely with the white picket fence. Wisteria is a truly wonderful vine. I am sad that your vine died, but I'm glad you got yourself another pink one. I sure hope your neighbor's comes back. That picture of their vine is so beautiful. When I drive into Los Angeles everyday, I can see the blooming wisteria all along Highway 101 in Hollywood.
Margie, your wisteria is gorgeous! It looks like it could be American wisteria, Wisteria frutescens. That one tends to be less invasive than the Chinese or Japanese wisteria. It is also called Kentucky wisteria. I love the color.
Kell, I have three in 20- or 25-gallon containers. I'm not actually sure how big the containers are, but I've nowhere to plant these so there they will have to stay. I've taken a picture of two of them for you to see. They say that, when you disturb or remove the roots, flowering could be affected by a year or so, but wisteria is used for bonsai, and they cut the roots all the time for bonsai, don't they? I love the tree standard look for wisterias.
Karyn, I bought two of those variegated wisterias on eBay too, and they both arrived dead so I got a refund. Let us know if you get variegated foliage! In the picture of the auction, the variegation was hard to see. The seller of those wisterias is a member here at Dave's and was really nice about things.
Sherry, Blueray is adorable.
Thanks, Jeff!
Here is a picture of two of my big ones:
Here is my pink one which is about to bloom:
EVERYONE'S Wisteria vines are to die for! Do you realize how lucky you are to be able to inhale their magnificent scent, delight in the thousands of colorful petals, and have them architecturally embelish your homes???!!!
Kell, is that a picture of you admiring that stately old Wisteria vine? I can't get over the enormous diameter of these very vigorous trunks!
I'm with Jeff, I'm SO JEALOUS!!! Our blanket of snow has FINALLY melted, but now when I walk in the garden, my shoes are covered in mud! Oh, to live & play in a climate that allows you to enjoy all your hobbies/obsessions to the fullest....that's MY dream!
SherryLike, your Golden Retriever, "Blueray" is beauty! I just love Retrievers!!
Here's all three big ones. Please excuse the mess in the background:-)
Here is my wisteria today....Thank you Clare for ID'ing it!
It is in the shape of a tree...
Tanks, all re Blueray - he's my constant companion, along with my cat, Red Parker, they 'guard' me, and, wow, do I feel safe, whew, as if, they are both big sissies...
Margie, I could be wrong. I was just guessing because your blooms look so full and American wisteria does tend to have fuller, shorter blooms. That purple is gorgeous.
Sherry, LOL! Isn't it funny how a couple of scare-dy cats make us feel safe? I know exactly what you mean. Oh well, at least Duke sounds tough when he barks and growls!