Some are already done. Some are going full bore. Some are just starting.
We fall into the latter category.
Last year at about this time I was taking mental-health breaks from daily and day-long attendance at the Heart Institute. Two blocks west of the hospital I discovered a slightly scruffy but entirely magnificent magnolia tree in its full-bore stage. That stage never lasts long, but it’s wonderful while it does.
I don’t know the exact reasons that magnolia trees and shrubs vary in their blooming schedules. I could guess that they are different varieties and different ages, an explanation that actually explains little. I could guess that different locations producing different growing conditions and amounts of sunlight has something to do with it, but what exactly that something would be I couldn’t guess. If I knew more botany or cared to explore it (Are there birds involved? Bridges? I thought not.), I might discover an explanation that would help me predict what my tree will do, and when.
As it is, I wait in hope. Hope that the tree has wintered well. Hope that the squirrels will have a Squirrel! moment and be (successfully!) distracted by treats other than magnolia buds. Hope that left to its own devices and in its own time, the tree will do its magnolia thing.
According to some, hope is a theological virtue; virtue, some say, is its own reward. In the abstract I’m good with that, or like to pretend that I am, which pretence is almost certainly not a virtue, theological or otherwise. How lovely it is, then, when I get an actual reward: in this case, a magnolia tree fulfilling my hopes by coming into bloom again.
I saw my first of this season next to Lake Ontario. Proximity to that moderating influence is the big bloomer around these parts. It is a huge, towering tree with a fully rounded canopy. I caught my breath and reminded myself that I was driving a moving car. “Such beauty is as stretcheth me apart” as Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote of autumn colours. The coming of spring has been slow here but now that the blossoms are appearing the fast approach of summer is a sure thing.
Laurna – I believe you about Lake Ontario. Friends who lived in Kingston for a few years said that the spiders were active all winter due to the moderate temps there. I know they have magnolias in BC (huge ones) and Ontario (presumably warmer spots of Quebec also) – I wonder where else in Canada. Or if.
I think the answer in Alberta is “theoretically “? There are varieties that can be hardy -in Edmonton more than Calgary) but they are the beautiful big pink ones like in BC, and to be honest, I’ve never seen one thriving.
Alison – Yeah, those flaky Calgary winters with their chinooks have been the death of many a fine shrub/perennial/tree. It’s like plants can stand the cold but not the uncertainty. I remember Mom muttering about it. It’s too bad magnolias are out-of-range: they’re spectacular when they do thrive.
You have a way of getting the greatest shots, Isabel
Tom
Tom – Many thanks.