With blossom purple and imperious

she beckons me, mauve, mysterious,

and draws me to her, mute and serious,

and wonderful and wild, wisterious.

~Gershon Hepner

Every spring I look forward to the pendulous racemes of purple deliciousness which fall from wisteria vines.   Their loveliness delights not only my eyes and nose with lavish pleasure but also my soul.  However, only the visual glory of wisteria can be imprisoned with my camera lens.  Sadly, to date I’ve not found a way to capture the sweet aroma that permeates the space all around the vines.  As it wafts outward on any available puff of air, the wondrously luscious fragrance intoxicates me and invites the constant hum of hungry bees.  If the nectar in them tastes as good as its flowers smell, what a delectable feast it must be for adoring insect paramours!  Besides their exquisite form and awesome aroma, wisteria blossoms are a mixture of rich deep purple and delicate light purple, an intriguing combination of red and blue that speaks of romance and passion.  Purple, long associated with nobility and spirituality, is said to have a “special, almost sacred place in nature,” and so it does in my garden or wherever I find it.  One author has even declared that “the spiritual and mystical qualities of purple satisfy the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement.”

May your inner eye see through the surfaces

And glean the real presence of everything that meets you.

May your soul beautify the desire of your eyes

That you might glimpse the infinity that hides

In the simple sights that seem worn to your usual eyes.

~John O’Donohue

Awake, north wind, and come, south wind!  Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad.  Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. ~Song of Solomon 4:16