News location:

Canberra Today 24°/27° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Gardening / Why wisteria makes a statement

What a show, wisteria in full bloom in a Canberra garden.
What a show, wisteria in full bloom in a Canberra garden.
WISTERIA growing over a pergola or arch makes a statement, both with its  flowers and superb fragrance.
Cedric Bryant.
Cedric Bryant.

The frame needs to be substantial to withstand the weight of the branches. An interesting aspect of wisteria is the way it grows. For example, with the two main varieties, Wisteria floribunda (the Japanese variety) twines around support columns in a clockwise direction; whereas Wisteria sinensis grows in an anti-clockwise direction.

The long racemes of white, pink, blue and mauve pea-shaped flowers can be combined with other climbers such as clematis, which can use the wisteria stems to cling on to.

I AM asked from time to time of plants listed in “The Bible”. I created such a garden for a client but, unfortunately, it was destroyed in the 2003 bushfires. However, the list is extensive and many plants listed are common today. A good starting point is biblegardens.com/list all flowers.
Dianthus or Gilly Flower, one of Shakespeare’s favourites.
Dianthus or Gillyflower, one of Shakespeare’s favourites.

Even more popular among my clients is a Shakespeare-themed garden and there’s a list of plants at goldengatepark.com/all

Interestingly, many of the Shakespeare plants will also be in the biblical list. Many plants were brought to the Western world by the Crusaders in the 14th century, having never seen such an array of plants.

One advantage of plants originating from the Mediterranean region is they are ideally suited to our climate. Just two examples are Arbutus unedo, the Irish strawberry tree supposedly introduced into Ireland by St. Patrick, and Dianthus, known in Shakespeare’s time as the Gillyflower, which has been a garden favourite for at least 500 years.

GLYPHOSATE, the universal weed killer, originated by Monsanto under the name “RoundUp”.

Many other companies now market the product under different names and quite a range of prices for the same product. I am frequently asked: “Is it safe to use with the possibility of it being carcinogenic?”

There are concerns in many countries, particularly in the EU and Britain. Vitally concerned at the increasing use of chemical sprays and fertilisers, the  EU Commission has discontinued its 15-year approval for the weed killer’s use due to different countries not being able to agree on a common set of guidelines. Despite a temporary extension since August, approval for its use is due to expire late next year, depending on the outcome of a report by the European Chemicals Agency.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Royal Horticultural Society states that, depending on further tests, there is no firm basis for discontinuing the use of glyphosate at present.

WITH the bushfire season now in place, it’s the responsibility of householders to regularly mow nature strips, not the government. This includes all private and government residential properties. City Services says it has noted grass a metre high in places and, with drying winds, it only needs a careless discarded cigarette butt to start a fire.

Who can be trusted?

In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.

If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.

Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.

Become a supporter

Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Cedric Bryant

Cedric Bryant

Share this

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Gardening

Blue flowers brighten a drab plant

"The sky-blue flowers are most interesting with a little frill on each of the petals that make up for this drab looking plant," says gardening writer JACKIE WARBURTON of common chicory.

Follow us on Instagram @canberracitynews