Wisteria. Clusters of purple blossoms that remind me of grapes, hanging from trees where it shouldn’t be.
An early herald of the arrival of spring.
Yesterday’s chilly breeze rocked the vine, fluttered the petals, and blew the fragrance over to where I stood, in the parking lot on the side of a nearby church.
Yesterday while running errands, I noticed wisteria at the entrance of the church's driveway. When I pulled in, I looked further down the parking lot and saw a bank of blossoms starting high in the air and cascading down to eye level.
What a sight it was. And, oh, the smell!
Despite its beauty, this type of wisteria means trouble. It's a fast-growing invader, and sure enough, the vine is wrapped around a magnolia. I can see the long, oval, waxy leaves above me.
Because it isn't cultivated, wisteria tends to grow in untended places, like the sides of highways and busy streets.
One reason I like it is it adds a natural wildness to the usually carefully manicured, perfect-looking landscaping in our area. The other reason is purple is my favorite color.
When the wisteria stops blooming and the last bit of fragrance drifts away, it will go back to just being a vine. And a pest, at least to the magnolia.
And while I do see the implications of what will happen to that magnolia and any surrounding trees if the vine is not cut down, for now I'm glad that its beauty and fragrance are available to anyone who happens by. And I’m glad I did.
Where have you seen beauty today?
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