At the time I was not familiar with Wisteria Vines.
However, I came to love the purple grape-like clusters of flowers, that hung from the woody vines when they bloomed. To those who are familiar with Wisteria, you know what a rapped growing vine they can be.
My husband, the ever handy yardman, decided to trim them back. I might add his trimming could sometimes include cutting down, destroying or completely doing away with. My beautiful Wisteria vines never recovered.
I once heard the power saw and went outside to find all our shrubbery lying on the ground, their woody roots protruding from the soil. His excuse, "They were overgrown." That little incident proved to be quite costly.
Instead of cutting and replacing a few at a time, we did extensive expensive shrubbery replacement that year.
I used to take care of the inside of the house and leave the outside work to my hubby. After his happy saw incident, I started expressing by desires for the exterior of our home as well.
We later moved and, after a few years, built on to our home to accommodate my need to use a three wheel motorized scooter. I designed the remodeling to suit my needs and continued my decorating plans on out into the yard. Decks were built on to the back of our home, as well as an attached gazebo. Arbors and archways were draped with English Ivy, Honeysuckle and of course Wisteria vines. I was proud of my inside and outside d�cor. My husband enjoyed the yard work and soon learned the saw was not to be used on Betty's well designed landscaping.
Soon the arbors where filled with the fast growing Wisteria. But, there were no purple grape-like clusters of flowers appearing. Had Bill forever put a curse on Wisteria vines? Upon researching, I found they sometimes take a number of years to bloom if ever. After several years of absentee flowers, I resolved to enjoy the green vines they produced and merely reminisce about the flowering clusters I once had.
We made another move, after a number of years, and left our home and Wisteria in the hands of Realtors. After a year and a half our home had not sold. We then sold our Arizona home, making our way back to Illinois to the house and yard we'd left behind. The yard had been kept mowed but we were sure it had not received the tender loving care that we had provided.
April brings spring showers and, before our arrival, Illinois had seen its share. We arrived in town to see old familiar sites and a few newly constructed businesses. We made our way down well known streets and neighborhoods. The signs of spring were everywhere -- the green grass of home, Dogwood trees, tulips and tree lined streets welcomed us. We rounded the curve and pulled into the driveway. Our hearts sank!
Our beautiful yard -- neglected! The lawn boy, much to our dismay, had not been able to mow because of the rains. We just sat in the car and almost cried. Not only had it not been mowed, but for a year and a half no one had trimmed, clipped, raked, mulched or admired it. The yard which had brought us pleasure, the yard which had received words of praise from neighbors and those passing by, had missed us and been unloved and neglected.
We unloaded and made our way inside.
The home, too, had missed us.
It welcomed us with its bare clean walls and carpet. We headed for the back decks to find an overgrown yard and vines reaching to distances never before attained. Our hearts again sank!
I ventured out onto the deck in my three wheel motorized scooter, across the bridge, that separated the two, and under the arbor. I was heartbroken. Then I looked up. On a woody green leafed vine hung blooms of purple grape like clusters.
Welcome Home!