My First Magnolia

I think my most favorite of all flowers are Magnolias.
For the past 30 years I have planted magnolias nearly everywhere Ive moved to...unfortunately it was time to move on when they were just getting good.

I planted this one as a small tree a few months back and yesterday I picked the first flower that it has produced....not only to be able to blip it today for FF but for the most exquisite lemony fragrance that permeates the house.

I took 6 pics of this and focus stacked so everything (nearly) is in focus.
I have become aware that I have often paid so much attention to the heads of the flowers forgetting...the beautiful leaves ....thorns...stems.... and knarly furry bits ...and...sometimes I like them better.

One of the things I love about the Magnolia (and there are many) are the little matchsticks that fall from the center.
If the house is quiet you can hear them falling onto the table......often there is powdery yellow pollen that creates dusty patches to break their fall.

I could wax lyrical about Magnolias for some time but dinner is nearly ready and we are having a wee family night together....us three....(Oh and the furry folk too)...........I will go into more depth next time one blooms.

“Louisiana in September was like an obscene phone call from nature. The air--moist, sultry, secretive, and far from fresh--felt as if it were being exhaled into one's face. Sometimes it even sounded like heavy breathing. Honeysuckle, swamp flowers, magnolia, and the mystery smell of the river scented the atmosphere, amplifying the intrusion of organic sleaze.
-Tom Robbins


Thank you my dear BB