Would you like to look out of your kitchen window and see this wisteria in bloom in the patio?

Plant Characteristics

Wisteria is a member of the Pea family, Fabaceae (formerly Leguminoseae). The genus was named in honor of an anatomy professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Caspar Wistar (1761-1818). The genus includes ten species of deciduous climbing vines, two native to the southern United States and the others native to eastern Asia. 

Wisteria are vigorous, twining vines with wide landscape usage where space permits and gardeners are committed to keeping them in bounds. Among their attributes are hardiness, vigor, longevity and the ability to climb high. They are greatly valued for their large, pendulous flower clusters that occur in the spring. Flowers are pea-like and may be white, pink, lilac-blue, bluish-purple or purple in color. The fruit is a long, green flattened pod that is not particularly ornamental. The plant climbs by means of twining stems and has alternate, pinnately compound leaves. Older, established plants may have a twisted, woody trunk several inches in diameter. Plants that have been grown from seed remain in a long juvenile stage and often do not bloom for 10 to 15 years or longer. Plants that are grafted, and plants grown from cuttings or layered from a flowering plant will usually begin flowering earlier than seedlings. 

Two species of wisteria are typically grown in home gardens: Wisteria sinensis or Chinese wisteria, and Wisteria floribunda or Japanese wisteria. The Chinese wisteria is the more popular plant due to its flowering habit. It grows to a height of 25 feet or more and has flower clusters six inches to a foot in length, which open before the foliage has expanded. Individual flowers in the clusters open all at once for a very showy display. Flowers are violet-blue and slightly fragrant. Plants are most showy from early to mid-May in most seasons. There is also a white flowering form of Chinese wisteria, W. sinensis 'Alba,' which is very fragrant. Two cultivars include: 'Black Dragon,' which has double dark purple flowers and 'Plena' with double, rosette-shaped, lilac flowers. Chinese wisteria may bloom within three to four years after planting; however, the juvenile period may be much longer. 

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Britain yesterday - Barak Obama & David Cameron team up to play pupils table tennis on first day of the President´s state visit to UK

Uploaded by santosa3288 on May 24, 2011

 

Barack Obama and David Cameron teamed up to play some pupils at table tennis at the Globe Academy school in South London.

The US president and UK prime minister visited the school on Obama's first day in the country on his state visit.

Britain yesterday - The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall welcome Barack and Michelle Obama

Uploaded by TheRoyalChannel on May 24, 2011

 

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall leave Winfield House, the US Ambassador's residence, with The President of the United States Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk

Britain yesterday - Queen greets Barack and Michelle Obama with 41-gun salute on first day of state visit to UK

Uploaded by telegraphtv on May 24, 2011

 

Barack and Michelle Obama are treated to the US National Anthem and a 41-gun
salute after arriving at Buckingham Palace on the US President's first state
visit to Britain.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011 - BritishHeartFound Our first ever garden at the Chelsea Flower Show has won Silver. Designer Ann-Marie

Uploaded by BritishHeartFound on May 24, 2011

 

http://www.bhf.org.uk/mbh At the moment, there's no cure for a broken heart. Once your heart muscle is damaged by a heart attack, it can never fully recover. But there is hope.

We need to spend £50 million to fund groundbreaking research that could begin to literally 'mend broken hearts' in as little as ten years time.

Your support can give hope to hundreds of thousands of people across the UK.

Our first ever garden at the Chelsea Flower Show has won Silver.

Watch the video to find out how the garden is helping our Mending Broken Hearts appeal, take a tour and meet Ann-Marie, the designer.

"The Pipe" trailer - in UK Cinemas Friday 27th May 2011 - Directed By: Risteard O'Domhnaill

Uploaded by thepipethefilm on Nov 8, 2010

 

'The Pipe' set for general cinema release on 3rd December 2010 at cinemas nationwide. See www.thepipethefilm.com for details 

Synopsis:

In a remote corner of the West of Ireland sits Broadhaven Bay. It is the perfect picture postcard, where the high cliffs of Erris Head and the Stags of Broadhaven stand sentry at the mouth of the bay against the mighty Atlantic, as if protecting the delicate golden sands of Glengad beach and the tiny village of Rossport, which nestles behind the dunes. However, this peaceful tranquility belies the turmoil that lies beneath, and the unique nature of the coastline which has sustained generations of farmers and fishermen, has also delivered to Shell Oil the perfect landfall for the Corrib Gas Pipeline.
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‘The Pipe’ follows 3 members of this small community from a quiet rural life to the arrival of Shell into their community, and the fear and anxiety which the impending project brings. Not only are they flung into a tumultuous struggle with Shell and the state, but they are also forced to battle with elements within their own campaign who seek to divide and control, as their community is torn apart by the stresses of choosing to support or oppose the oil company. Yet, despite the seriousness of the events surrounding them, their resilience and humanity never wains, and even in their darkest moments their wit and humour has an uncanny ability to counter the despair.
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In the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland, the rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the worlds most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their state to protect their rights, they find that the state has put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline over their own.
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The Pipe is a story of a community tragically divided, and how they deal with a pipe that could bring economic prosperity or destruction of a way of life shared for generations.

"The Four Times" trailer - in UK Cinemas Friday 27th May 2011 - Starring: Giuseppe Fuda, Bruno Timpano, Nazareno Timpano

The Four Times

Directed By Michelangelo Frammartino

Michelango Frammartino in "The Four Times," a wordless portrait of the cyclical nature of rural life in a tiny, southern Italian town.

The first part of the film centers on an elderly, dying goat-herder. The director spends as much time on the man as the herd, and the silent contemplations of both are equally riveting. While numerous moments evoke smiles, one particularly "awww" inspiring scene comes at the unexpected birth of a baby goat, right after the death of the goat-herder, who is replaced by someone younger but also nameless, as daily routine continues in the community, along with group events like religious celebrations and Christmas gatherings.

There are also numerous, lingering shots of the forests and rocky landscapes (the plants and minerals) of this area not far from the Ionian Sea. It is like watching existence behind the scenes. Frammartino has stopped to smell the roses, trees and fields that not long ago at all made up life as we know it, yet which now has been buried or lost forever under layers of modern, man-made constructs.

We also are reminded that actual recycling happens naturally through, well, the cyclicality of nature. What we are doing today is accumulating noise and junk and moving away from something whose poetry is inherent when we remember to think of it.

In fact, we get so sucked in by the silence and images that the communal gatherings in the small town seem like metropolitan hustle and bustle, and the people with their digital cameras and Ipods aliens visiting from a distant future.
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"Suicide Kids " trailer - in UK Cinemas Saturday 28th May 2011 - Starring: Shanika Warren-Markland, Andrew Ellis, Jack Doolan, Jennie Jacques, Jason Maza.

Uploaded by suicidekidsfilm on May 3, 2011

 

Writer, Director AND Producer of Suicide Kids Mr Arjun Rose himself, gives his top 3 reasons to live

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suicidekidsfilm
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/suicidekidsfilm

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