The Dangerous Beauty of the Wisteria

The Dangerous Beauty of the Wisteria (from the series: Stigma & Style)

When I was a child, we had Laburnums in the garden and my mother was paranoid that one of her children would eat the seeds and die. By virtue of my mothers constant warnings, I grew up with a distinct fear of the Laburnum and other poisonous flora; Rhubarb (in the leaves) and Foxgloves and Deadly Nightshade - and the Yew tree too, which occasionally kills goats and cows that are not careful enough of what they chew on. I never even touched such plants.

But, I loved the gentle Wisteria that hangs from the walls of English houses and brings joy to gardens in late spring. What could be more English than the glorious Wisteria?

Just about anything, as it happens. The Wisteria is native to the Americas and East Asia, but not to Europe. It’s a relative of the Laburnum and just as poisonous. My mother neglected to inform me of this, because we had no Wisteria in the neighborhood.