NMAH_Wisteria perfuming the air

by on January 3, 2012

NMAH_Wisteria perfuming the air
perfume history

Image by catface3
Gorgeous old wisteria vine espaliered onto a wall near the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Washington, DC. The wonderful grape-like clusters of flowers were buzzing with drunken bumblebees, dizzy with the heavy perfume.

Tagged as: NMAH_Wisteria, perfuming

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Anita Thomhave Simonsen January 3, 2012 at 3:09 pm: this looks very beautiful…I would like my garden fence to look like this and if this smell is good as the many bumblebies suggest, it would be soo good to have……

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Sheena 2.0™ January 3, 2012 at 3:35 pm: Its a nice picture!

So this is Wisteria Lane?

Seen on your photo stream. (?²ˣ)

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gatorgalpics January 3, 2012 at 4:19 pm: Hi, I’m an admin for a group called "®Travelandscapes" (Post 1 – Comment 1), and we’d love to have this added to the group!

I love Wisteria – I wish we had more around here.
I really miss Lilac blooms also. Those are only found in cooler climates.
I like this side perspective. I can almost detect their aroma.

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catface3 January 3, 2012 at 4:34 pm: @Anita: Thanks for stopping by. These, I think, must be Chinese wisteria because of the fragrance and because they are blooming in Spring time. According to wikipedia.com en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisteria, there are two kinds of wisteria–eastern United States and Asian (China, Japan, Korea). The US kind blooms in mid-to-late Summer and is not as fragrant as the Asian kind.

@Sheena 2.0: LoL, I had not thought of that connection. It does not look much like the one on "Desperate Housewives," does it? I was surprised to learn from wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisteria_Lane that show’s street has been used for many movies and TV shows–from "Leave it to Beaver" to "The Munsters" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"!

@ggp: Oh, yes, lilac is a great favorite of mine, too. I have one small plant, but it does not have many blooms. I think the soil may not be alkaline enough for it in its current location.

Seeing a lilac bush in full bloom often reminds me of Walt Whitman’s poem about the American Civil War, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed." The war began in April 1861 and essentially ended in April 1865, the month when lilacs bloom around Washington, DC, where he lived.

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