A few weeks ago, AT HOME editor in chief Christy Marshall brought me a branch of seed pods from the wisteria in her yard (crappy cell phone capture above). I've always been partial to wisteria—there's an ancient one climbing up the side of a warehouse a few blocks from me, and it makes me happy every time I drive by—but I've never grown it myself.
I'm a fan of do-what-works, so I won't diss people who go to the nursery, or hire a landscaper. But I think the best way to acquire skills is to do things the hard way, to take the long way around. Being gifted with seeds you would not have acquired yourself, and know nothing about, is a great opportunity for learning to garden.
The first thing I learned about wisteria: the seed pods explode! Maybe this is a no-duh revelation to people who have wisteria in their yards, but I was terribly impressed by that. If wisteria is allowed to grow over long periods of time, it practically turns into a tree, so shooting its seeds far away from the original plant ensures that there will be sufficient sunlight (and soil nutrients) for seedlings. (Apparently, this explosion is so loud it can sound like someone is throwing rocks at your garage.)
A less exciting thing about wisteria: starting it from seed means waiting 10 to 15 years for the plant to flower. This is where the do-what-works philosophy comes into play. I don't know many people patient enough to stick around for that; one statistic says American families move every seven years, which makes the wisteria-from-seed plan kind of untenable, at least if you like flowers. So if you're a foot-tapper, go buy yourself a cutting that will flower sooner. One place I really like is Stark Bros. Nursery, based out of Louisiana, Mo.; they send out mail orders lickety-split, though I think it's more fun to make a road trip and pick up plants in person. They offer three varieties of wisteria, including white and pink.
If you are a more unusual sort of person, and are willing to wait a decade for the vine to flower, there are rewards there, too. I once heard a farmer say that people have this whole raising plants thing backwards, whether it's flowers or crops. To succeed, you have to think like the plant, and come to terms with the plant's agenda. Planting wisteria, putting it out of your mind, and then just being delighted when it finally does flower seems like good practice towards adopting that mindset. And wisteria probably has its reasons for taking so long to flower...you never know what you might learn while watching the plant mature over time. And that knowledge is often as satisfying as the sight of the flowers.
