CASCADING TASSELS

A quintessentially English garden favourite, the pendulous blossoms of fragrant lavender- and lilac-coloured wisteria vines gracefully dangle above the door of a honey-stoned cottage, like a waterfall of blooms. An extremely vigorous deciduous climber, wisteria is traditionally grown on a south-facing wall, where it can flourish in the sunshine. This is rewarded by clusters of trailing, pea-like panicles that flower between April and June. When training wisteria, it is important to bear in mind the variety, as different species will exhibit diverse twining characteristics. The most popular are Wisteria sinensis, or Chinese wisteria, which twines in an anti-clockwise direction, and Wisteria floribunda, otherwise known as Japanese wisteria, which twines clockwise. Flower pendants appear before the foliage on the former, while on the latter, they appear at the same time. The plant requires regular pruning throughout the growing season to help maintain it and keep the vines manageable.