I used to earn pennies as a gardener and am familiar with the sometimes seemingly ruthless tasks gardeners face.
.Every year for the past 4 or 5 years I have threatened to cut down, rip out, remove the wisteria. And every year, before I’ve pruned it back to a tame and tidy twig of its former self, it flowers! And I haven’t the heart to be ruthless. Also, it’s not in a position that I can tackle without help (someone to call the paramedics if the ladder slips), so when The Man had a spare day…
This was Petrea volubilis and Wisteria sinensis slugging it out for possession of a 20′ palm tree. Between us, we must have cut and dragged metres and metres of tangled vines. And then….drum roll….I spotted this…
Now, in non-tropical climes wisteria flowers in early-to-mid spring. September-October. Then we gardeners can sweep up the spent flowers, prune it back to short lengths of the just-flowered shoots and wait for the next year’s purple glory.
Here? It doesn’t seem to have the faintest idea of seasons and calendars! Being a softy concerning wisteria I called a halt to the savage reduction. I’ll get back up the ladder when the flowers fade. I promise!
And, having taken out some half-dead and weedy shrubs, I’ve been striking cuttings of this, that and the other to fill spaces. This means, of course, that I’ll have little pots of this, that and the other tucked in the lee of the carport til after Cyclone Season.
I took a short break to check on some glue…all good, so here are some more yawns gorgeous shots from my garden. With a couple borrowed from next door. Hey! I’m the water carrier so I can claim some credit!
Platycerium Elkhorn
Borrowed from the neighbour, Heliconia rostrata, a hanging lobster claw.
The acalyphas (and other things!) are being turned into lace by “very hungry caterpillars” and an assortment of insect gourmands. For the most part, I don’t bother about it, but I do get cranky when they chew through buds of roses, lilies and tomatoes.
An un-named day lily (Hemerocallis), the last of this season. We’ll miss their sunny greetings every morning.And no, we do not eat them. Somehow, I can’t bring myself to sacrifice them to the palate!
Hibiscus ” Ritzy”
Over the fence again, this time for a hibiscus. Not as big and blousy as many of its kind, this has a wonderful glow, especially when the sun is low. I think I’ll get a couple and group them with this…
sometimes called a blue ginger, it’s a Dicorisandra thyrsiflora.
Getting fed up? Tough! I have more!
Yesterday, I took a load of garden trash (stuff that’s too big for the compost bin) to what our local council is pleased to call its “green waste facility.” I came home with a splendid rhinocerous!
Hmmm… Does Petrea grow from cuttings? Would it grow down my way? I saw it in Fiji and have wanted it ever since.
I think you’re very brave to attack your wisteria. I’m sure that’s why it has popped out some flowers.
And does your tip allow you to bring good stuff home? We would be fined if we tried it. That’s a very handsome rhino.
Love all your photos. Can you really eat Hemerocallis (sp?) or am I suffering from over active imagination?
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Just google edible hemerocallis and you’ll see quite a few entries. Or go here and try Marie’s take on it http://66squarefeetfood.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/edibles-on-edge-recipes.html.
I can send you some rooted bits of Petrea!
Well, I’m friends with the dump supervisor. 🙂
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I adore Wisteria but I know it is so invasive and oh so hard to control but their very short flowering season seems to make them all the more special.
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Welcome aboard, Vicki. Yes, the darling vine can be a pest. We had a rental place where it curled, Triffid-like, in through windows and gutters. We had to be ruthless. You certainly wouldn’t have that problem where you live now! 🙂
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Very beautiful, I particularly adore the day lily.
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Hello, Denise! You’ve been silent a long while. Yes, the day lilies have been super this year. All that lovely yellow. Had a bronze one, but it just curled up and died.
Oh! I went a bit mad and bought a dwarf pohutukawa!
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I love that lobster claw plant. The wysteria here flowered three times this summer! The roses are still blooming. Weird stuff.
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Hi, Rosie. Your strange neighbours are far more interesting than late-blooming roses!
But, yes, it’s been a weird summer for you folks up there.
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Gardening?!
We’re under water, under mud actually.
X
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So …if we went walking in Witches Wood(on a Wednesday!), would we wallow?
🙂
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And we’re in desolate, dessicated, drought-tormented brown brown brown here. All your green is like candy locked away behind a glass counter. Beautiful…. but out of reach. 🙂
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Sorry!
Someone here(in a drought-stricken district) said he was glad they had not been flooded as that would have led to massive undergrowth/fuel next fire season. Can’t have it both ways, but I’d rather not have drought.
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one of my favorite things about visiting other countries, or even states, is the variation of flora and fauna… i am pretty sure i need to get to the other hemisphere. perhaps become a serious snowbird, and never see winter again!
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Well, you could do worse! My home turf (NZ) and my current home both offer pretty good ski-ing and diving.And our winters are not as long and harsh. Sun burn’s a serious issue though! Daisyfae – come on down! Oh, wait! we have spiders! 😦
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This is a welcome post to read, especially in the wake of the awful weather we’ve been having here. It’s finally stopped raining, and now we have frost. So nice to look at flowers and sunshine and to be reminded of summer.
Sx
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Oh, Scarlet, I’ve been thinking of all you folk in the Wild Weather West!.And now frost? Will you feel better if I have a glass of bubbles and salute you? SX
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I think I would feel better if I joined you with the bubbles 🙂
Sx
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Oh! Brilliant idea! Do it! 🙂 Sx
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Wisteria is beautiful but inherently evil. Ours is working on tearing our garden shed to pieces.
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And it will likely be triumphant. 🙂
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Our wisteria does the triffid thing with enthusiasm and so does the honeysuckle.
What fabulous colours you’ve got in your graden.
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I’ve resisted honeysuckle up here. Not that I don’t like it, but…
I already have too many things that get away from me!
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Um, garden!
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🙂
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Hmmmm…do you think that wisteria can read your mind…understands what you’re saying?
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Oh! Without a doubt, GG. The beast sees me approach with secateurs and throws buds *snap* just like that.
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I love to come visit summer from my gray and drizzly French home. These gardening chores and issues are ones I can only dream of having. Thanks for the link to the pond/canal blog. Loved it!
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It’s good to do a cyber-swap of seasons, isn’t it? And I knew you’d like Mig’s place
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the cuttings you sent down are all doing beautifully D & yes I’ve noticed that whenever we threaten to take a plant out it invariably flowers quick smart, they are telepathic beings for sure!!
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haha! Twas ever thus…
I have 2 very healthy brugs and one being a little recalcitrant, but hangin’ in!
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