The best wisteria for your garden, and a visit to a very secret garden in Venice
Plus we take look at a new and different way of looking at the pruning of wisteria
Last week, I went on a journey to find out what exactly it is about wisteria that is so very seductive
Why is a planting of wisteria so successful? To me it seems that it’s due to the connotations carried by the wisteria flowers: unexpected beauty, the arrival of an old friend, the improbably huge racemes of flowers which look so heavily light.
But first of all:
What’s in store in The Gardening Mind this week?
I’ve been really looking forward to this week’s post:
We’re going to take a look at wisteria, and I pick out the most scented ones, with ideas for pots and smaller spaces
Also, we take a look at a very special secret garden in Venice
Mole-like, you make your way down the vast, dark entrance hall, led on by the white light showing through windows at the end. There’s a glimpse of green and you know it’s a garden.
To remind you that there’s a Zoom for ‘small garden designers’ this Thursday 25th April at 7pm UK time, where we’ll be looking at a system that will help you allocate the right amount of space to each of your different garden areas - terrace, planting etc. In this meeting, I’m also going to be sharing the big reveal of the example garden - the complete Before and After.
You can start this course at any time; all the catch-ups are here.
I’ve released some more one-to-one mentoring Meetings for anyone who wants to go through their design in more detail. These sessions are an opportunity to talk to me about your own garden design, and I’ll give you feedback, notes and ideas. Think of it as an online garden consultation or tutorial - whatever suits you best.
Our first Book Club will be starting on Thursday evening - this will be on the Chat. (You don’t need to be free on Thursday - this is just the date to look out for updates.
If you’re new here, we’re going to be reading The Education of a Gardener by Russell Page, secondhand copies of which are available.
If you’re thinking of joining in, this is something that you can do in your own time.
There’ll be a chapter to read each week, and then I’ll start a discussion thread on the Chat where we can talk about different elements that crop up, whether Page’s ideas are still relevant today, and what we’re gleaning as we’re reading. This will change as I sort out the smoothest way for things to happen - it’s very much a learning curve for all of us, but it’ll definitely be a fun thing for us to do together
Also for paid subscribers is our Real-Life Meet-Up in a couple of months’ time. our first garden meet-up of the year is taking place at the wonderful walled gardens at Water Lane in Kent.
Please could you add your name to the list if you’re thinking of coming - you’ll find it if you scroll back thorough the Chat topics you’ll see it. Details of the date and time are there.
On the subject of Chat, our weekly Show Us Your Plots Chat is spreading wider and wider and more and more people from more and more places all over the world are starting to join in - let’s try and spread the word by either re stacking (reposting) this letter by hitting the ‘restack’ button - the two arrows making a circle:
or by sharing it, by pressing the Share button. Or both!
Wysteria Hysteria
Each May in the UK, as the ground begins to warm up, this beauty feels a stirring at its roots and, with an almost palpable rush of excitement, causes a tingle all over as its porcelain-blue buds start to emerge.
I’ve just come back from a few days in Venice during Italy’s wisteria season in an attempt to steal a march on the UK’s May by getting an Italian April preview. I was determined not to miss to miss this moment: people talk about it with a sense of nostalgia, almost misty-eyed as they try to describe the scent, but more than that, how the whole experience is one of those that needs to be done at least once in a lifetime.
So what is it that makes the yearly appearance of this plant so very special?
Wisteria actually works a magic spell. I don’t know quite how it does it, so I went on a quest around Venice’s narrow streets and hidden courtyards to find out more. You don’t need any kind of assistance, any wisteria map for this. All you need to do is wander around the streets, and you’ll suddenly