They are both wisteria - the white is probably a Japanese wisteria, Wisteria floribunda - they produce the longest racemes of flowers - 18-30". The blue is possible a Chinese variety with shorter flower racemes. Both Japanese and Chinese wisteria are very fragrant.....pretty much any variety. Native species tend to be somewhat less fragrant but also somewhat less rampant in habit. FYI, wisteria is NOT a low maintenance plant - it needs a very sturdy support structure and a lot of pruning....weekly during the growing season with a hard prune each winter. And you need to keep an eye out on root suckers.

IF you purchase one, make sure it is a grafted variety. Seed grown wisteria can take many years before producing flowers.

Not only does it need a very sturdy support structure, it needs a big support structure. I've seen Wisteria all the way to the top of a tree that was taller than a two story house....It is spectacular for a couple of weeks but is an overwhelming grower when it gets going. I prefer to visit it rather than grow it ; )

There's one up the road about a mile from me and that's close enough. For the most part, I'm a low maintenance gardener. Sure looks nice now though!

Yes, there used to be wisteria clear to the top of 40-foot + trees near the Old Town Crier restaurant on Holgate.

There is one in Sierra Madre CA (near Pasadena) that has grown across several yards and is a tourist destination: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/lifestyle/20140310/sierra-madres-120-year-old-world-record-holding-vine-on-display-during-wistaria-festival

Amazingly, the above link does not provide an overall view of the plant, even in the 5-slide show link on the webpage.

I found a website with a video....we went to see it as a kid and I remember it still. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsfNzImZurg

Thanks, a bit of an improvement, must be in backyards where photography is cramped.

Hey, anoushehnawaz, I'm one of the community gardeners there, and am quite familiar with those wisterias. Those vines were planted there when the garden was built over a decade ago. The purple one in the foreground was abused and neglected for many years, and seemed likely to expire until "someone" started to try and train it to grow up and around the post. This is the first year it has bloomed to any significant extent.

The white one is an awesomely rambunctious grower, and receives no care or pruning whatever, except where the branches droop down into the pathway it's planted next to. There's actually a purple-flowered variety mixed in with the white, but it's totally overwhelmed by the other.

Do you Portlanders remember the "wisteria tree" at SE 48th and Clinton? Another case of wisteria growing over 40 feet, cloaking the tree and creating a spectacular display.

My family had admired it for many years, and then my husband and I bought a house nearby. The homeowner had a friend who volunteered to do some yardwork, and he proceeded to cut the wisteria at ground level. He said it would kill the tree (which was a junk tree only made worthwhile by the wisteria). The homeowner was heartbroken.

The Old Town Crier tree at 41st & Holgate that was draping some Cedar trees was removed along with the Cedars to make way for a new corner lot house, perhaps a dozen years ago.