The wisteria under my terrace and on the terrace’s north wall is giving me tremendous pleasure once again. It is in flower. And it is simply magnificent. The drooping bundles of purple flowers are full of life. As well as everlasting hope. But there is something peculiar about the wisteria this year among years. There are no leaves anywhere on its gnarled vine. Only ebullient flowers. Where are the leaves, though? When will they appear? But it is clear that the weather must be confusing the poor plant. The wisteria’s mistake is hardly a mistake at all, in other words. All the plants on the planet are pretty confused by now, to be sure. All of them are catching up with the changes in the weather. And some are a bit more astute than the others at the ever-changing game. I can only hope that the wisteria I can already call my own will make it through the towering confusion. Flowers? Leaves? Who cares!

Addendum I (March 23, 2019)

Ever since this piece was penned, I have been watching the wisteria on my terrace with special care. And especially in spring. Do leaves ever appear before flowers? And the answer is that they do not. In other words, this piece was off the mark. Wisteria made no mistake, that is. Although it is certainly true that climate change is confusing plants and animals alike, there was no confusion in this case. If anyone was confused, it was only I. Hooray!

Addendum II (April 10, 2023)

The wisteria on my terrace is in bloom a week or even a fortnight late this year. And the reason is abundantly clear: frosty spring that may well stretch for a few more weeks. One more time, though, flowers are appearing well before leaves, and thus I have felt like searching for this piece. If corrections are needed, there is no trouble in making them at least twice. Indeed, I was wrong almost a decade ago. After so many years in my house on top of the Motovun hill, I am pretty sure that the mistake was mine and only mine. Wisterias start with flowers rather than leaves. After all, the fabulous creeper and its ancestors have been around the planet earth much longer than my own, not to mention my humble self. Hey, I will be no older than seventy-seven years of age in a week! In terms of time’s passage, that amounts to little more than nothing.