Love-Hate Relationship

I have a love-hate relationship with wisteria.

One of my favorite things about my house is my deck. I love sitting out on my back deck - barbecuing, eating dinner, reading, talking with friends, roasting marshmallows in my fireplace, etc. The deck has a slatted roof that is completely covered by wisteria. In the spring time, I get to enjoy the beautiful, sweet-smelling flowers on my wisteria plant. The flowers cascade down and practically envelope my deck. I smile each time I step out my back door. I love my wisteria.

Fast-forward a few weeks when the first summer storms hit. We have had a few of those this week... fierce winds, pounding rain, giant hail. The poor purple flowers can't endure through those storms and end up ALL OVER my yard and deck. So I sweep them up. Oh, but if only it was that easy... Of course all the flowers don't drop at once. Sure, a lot of the flowers dropped with the storms, but some still hung on, and will continue to drop over the next few weeks. That means sweeping my back deck about every other day. Wisteria has got to be one of the messiest plants ever. I hate my wisteria.

But then, once I am done sweeping, I get to enjoy the lush green covering of wisteria leaves over my deck all summer long, providing shade and relief from the hot summer sun. Once again, I love my wisteria :-)