‘Medusa’ the wisteria goes full bloom along Old Olympic Highway

By Matthew Nash • May 12, 2021 1:30 am

Now and for the next few weeks is the prime time to look at Medusa, says LeeAnn Nolan.

That’s the nickname she and her husband Rick gave their Wisteria plant that blooms around this time each year along their home’s fence.

With its long, snake-like shoots, LeeAnn said they do their best to keep it off their house because it could do serious damage.

“When it comes to that, I say, ‘Rick, Medusa needs a haircut,’” LeeAnn says.

Medusa has become quite an attraction over the years, she says, as it’s become commonplace for multiple people to stop by and take photos of it along the 6000 block of Old Olympic Highway, just east of Cays Road.

Sometimes photos are for anniversaries or for fun, and the Nolans even take an annual family photo in front of it with their son James, a welder with his Any Angle Fabrication.

LeeAnn Nolan said her wisteria, nicknamed Medusa, has become an attraction for people with many stopping by to snap photos while it’s in bloom.

One time, the Nolans received an anonymous letter from a passer-by thanking them for the plant because the person looks forward to it blooming each year.

“It was just really touching,” LeeAnn says.

Medusa came into her possession more than 30 years ago as a two-foot plant in a pot.

“I didn’t know what to do with it, but my husband (who had his own landscaping business and now works for Crouch Concrete) did,” LeeAnn says.

The plant went into the ground about 20 years ago, and has grown so much that Rick has rerouted it to add a second line on the fence to heighten and beautify the wisteria.

The Nolans added an arbor to block it from going onto their house, too.

LeeAnn, a fourth generation Woodcock family member, says she is the third generation to live in the house, and her mother Harriett Peterson was born there.

“I always knew this is where I’d come back to,” she says.

Last year, she retired from her business Perfect 10 Nail Studio following chronic pain from a car wreck four years ago when she was struck at a stoplight by a person talking on a phone. She says it breaks her heart that she can’t serve her longtime customers anymore.

With a constant view of the wisteria and the Olympic Mountains, LeeAnn says she’s always taking pictures of the plant.

“We love it. We’re not prideful people but it brings us a lot of joy,” she says. “We love to share its beauty with our neighbors of Sequim.”

For those considering growing wisteria, LeeAnn cautions that its seed pods can be toxic to pets. She’s says she’s grateful her dogs don’t like them.

Wisteria stretches across Rick and LeeAnn Nolan’s fence line twice to heighten the plant and show off its bloom, LeeAnn said.

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash

For about 20 years, the wisteria at Rick and LeeAnn Nolan’s house has grown along the fence line on Old Olympic Highway becoming an attraction for motorists. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

LeeAnn Nolan said she snaps pictures of her wisteria often, including with the Olympic Mountains in the backdrop. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash