Wisteria vine is 130 years old...and still blooming great

Unfortunately it’s more than any of us can hope to achieve in a lifetime.

This beautiful vine, now 150ft long and showing its best in the May sunshine, was planted in 1880 – 130 years ago.

In full bloom, it forms the centrepiece of Pinces Gardens in Exeter, Devon, and has been grown in the form of a wisteria “arch” creating a tunnel of shade which runs for its whole length.

“It still attracts crowds of visitors,” said a spokesman for the gardens, which were turned into a public park in 1912.

Now is the ideal time to visit. “The sweet-scented purple wisteria flowers are about to give over to leafy green foliage,” the spokesman added.