Elsa says...

Well, you know how much it can grow Elsa and now is the time to start thinking about it because once it has stopped flowering you can guide the long, wispy lengths onto a trellis. You can get a trellis and attach it to long wooden batons fixed on the empty wall. You need to measure the area you want to have covered, the length and the depth and ask at the hardware store or timber yard about how to fix it. There must be a depth of around 2 to 3cms between the trellis and wall which will be provided by the batons.  Then you can twine the wisps around the trellis.  Great fun!

Field Maple

Yes Elsa, the blooms are nice and long and are called ‘Racemes’. It is also a Floribunda type of Wisteria because the leaves and flowers are coming out at the same time and will be likely to have a very strong (and wonderful) fragrance.

Field Maple

Elsa, you are very observant and now I have a second picture of the wisteria I can see that the plant with the leaves is not wisteria at all!  It looks to me like it is a Passionflower Clematis which is growing into the wisteria, making it all quite a big tangle of twigs and wispy strands which will all want to grow very quickly. Ask Mum if she would like me to give you both an idea of what to cut now so that you don’t cut off the buds for either the clematis or the wisteria. By the way, the people who planted it before you moved in knew they would look good together because wisteria flowers in the spring and the clematis later in the year.  

Field Maple

Well Elsa, that’s what wisteria does! It gets itself all in a tangle. Wisteria wants to grow and it can produce long, long branches called ‘runners’ up to 3 or 4 metres long in only one year!  It will tickle your head when you go out to play if Mum doesn’t cut it at the right time!  If you leave it, next year it will curl out and trip you up off your feet!  The early spring flowers are absolutely gorgeous, purple, long and hanging they will give you the scent to make you always want to look after your wisteria! Please ask your Mum if you can send another photo in a different position and I can give you some ideas about how to prune it! Now is the time to get Mum to use her secateurs and cut it a little bit more before the flower wands come out!

Field Maple

Oh Elsa – what a wonderful display of so many beautiful red berries to cheer you and all of us up in the middle of winter!  The bush is a very healthy looking Pyrocantha also known as a ‘Firethorne’ for these berry reasons!  But also because it is a very thorny bush so be careful if you touch the branches.  Please leave the berries on the bush because any passing blackbird will gobble them up very happily. When the berries are gone you can send me another photo and we can think about how to promote flowers for the bush to make more berries next year. There are also some very nice ivy berries for the blackbirds hiding behind the Pyracantha.  Can you see them?

Field Maple

Well Elsa, the winter can make us feel sad because it’s the opposite of how the summer can make us feel glad!  But plants can do with having a rest and that’s what this creeper is doing. Not long now before it all comes out!

Field Maple

Yes Elsa, the Virginia Creeper is getting much wider, and bigger, showing how much it wants to grow and take over its patch.  Try putting your hand, or a stick, into the bush and pull a small part of it away to see if there are any insects in there!  Best to wear gloves?  Be very careful not to upset or interfere with what you see!  Let it be.  Just observe and ask Mum to take a photo of what you find!  Exciting!

Field Maple

Elsa, the fungi mess seems to have collapsed into itself.  There are two plants growing.  One is a young Elderberry tree, they seem to like to find nooks and crannies in or beside other trees, rocks or bare ground.  This could get quite big, so watch out for how it changes.  The other plant looks like it may be a young oak sapling, but I am not sure.  Does it have the same leaf as the tree above it?

Field Maple

Elsa - it is very impressive that you have returned to the Virginia Creeper and now you can see how the plant changes with the different seasons. You will notice the big heart-shaped leaves crawling through it.  This is Bindweed and may take over the growth of the creeper. You may see the Bindweed having big, white trumpet flowers which are very pretty, in the summer.  Super to Study, Elsa!  

Field Maple

Hiya Elsa, you have found the berries of the Snowberry Bush.  It is a real favourite of bees with its very small flowers.  Excellent observation inside the leafless Virginia Creeper!  You can see the Parks Department has put a wire mesh on the wall behind it upon which it can grow without damaging the brick wall.  There will be many insects behind that. You could dig around and find some?

Field Maple

Very interesting observation Elsa.  It is a smashed-up Bracket Fungus, living at the base of the tree.  You can see a little cave behind it. This could be a great place for insects and small mammals to live. Next to it there is a small Elder sapling taking advantage of a new habitat, using the debris there.  It may be an Oak tree or an Ash tree.  You will know which when the leaves return on it.  This is a poisonous fungus!

Field Maple

Wow Elsa, these are Harlequin Ladybirds and they look like they are settling on the old street bollard because they are well camouflaged.  Good for you to notice them. Not sure about their children though!

Field Maple

Very exciting Elsa, you are clearly studying plants to think about what lives in them, or with them. Great colours! The red leaves are Virginia Creeper.

Field Maple

Hi there Elsa, your spider has attached its web to the ivy on your wall.  It seems very comfortable in that habitat. It has lots of places to hide and keep dry.  Well spotted.

Field Maple