Magnolia ~ Harbinger of Spring
Each day as I take my morning walk,
the neighborhood is filled
with a very distinct lemony fragrance.
It announces the magnolia blooms
that are in abundance this time of year.
These splendid white beauties are named
for the 17th century French botanist, Pierre Magnol.
Native to both Asia and the Americas, the evergreen
tree has leathery leaves and gorgeous large white blooms.
Considered to be very primitive,
the blooms are similar to the very first flowers.
Magnolia blooms open in layers,
can be as large as 10 inches across,
and have as many as 14 tepals.
Both Mississippi and Louisiana
selected Magnolias as their state flower.
It's no surprise that these
blooms are associated with . . .
Beauty,
Perseverance,
Dignity and,
Nobility
Please click the links below to see what others are sharing this week.
Also joining The Tablescaper to
celebrate her 2nd Blog-aversary with
Where do you keep it all? Part II
Click below to see the answers.
Beautiful trees. They remind me of Texas, as our friends had a huge old Magnolia tree in their front yard. The beauty just keeps going since the pods are beautiful as well.
ReplyDeleteWe love Magnolia's and almost bought a tree the other day. They do well here in the Carolina's but not so much in South Florida. We had one there, and it was an awful twig, so I am not over it I told my husband. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures Sarah.
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous! I love the contrast of the white flower and the leathery leaf! They are Magnificent. I have never read about them, Thank you for educating us about them! I didn't realize the flower opened in layers. I love to use their leaves at Christmas time in decorating.
ReplyDeleteBig Hugs to you,
Donna
Very pretty Sarah! I'd love to smell the lemony fragrance just once:@)
ReplyDeleteBeing the Southerner that I am I dearly love Magnolias. The fragrance wafts through the air here in the South when in bloom. Such a magnificant bloom too. We have a farm in S GA and the Magnolias are everywhere and are simply breath taking. I enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn/A Southerners Notebook
Unfortunately I have never seen a real magnolia, only the faux variety. Yet it is one of my favorites. xo,.
ReplyDeleteI do love magnolias and your captures are breathtaking! What a joy! Hope you have a wonderful week, Sarah! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
THIS is what I call a MAGNOLIA!!! There are "imposters" lurking up here - - - they have pink blooms that come on BEFORE the leaves. They may have the word magnolia in their name, but they "ain't" no magnolia!!!
ReplyDeleteTHIS is a magnolia. A true blue (well, actually deep hunter green and white) southern magnolia.
LOVE them.
Your photos made me feel as if I could smell their lovely scent, Sarah! I loved seeing these creamy white magnolia blossoms and learning more about them!
ReplyDeleteso beautiful, you know i love ALL flowers! waving hi and hoping all is well your way :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous.
ReplyDeleteBeauties in the garden
and one of my most favorite scents.
xx
Wonderful photos!! Happy Outdoor Wednesday!!
ReplyDeletewe have many around us here but not in our yard. These are lovely!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful flower. I love the leaves too. I have used them as name plates on my dinner table, writing on them with gold pen
ReplyDeleteI first saw these visiting my son in Dallas. Spellbinding! I love the leaves too. I'm always wanting him to send me branches at Christmas. Haven't gotten them yet! Ha!
ReplyDeleteI love when the magnolias bloom ... it really says Southern Belle ~
ReplyDeleteSuch amazing flowers. I can't believe the size!
ReplyDelete- The Tablescaper
These photos of magnolias in bloom are g-r-e-a-t! See you next week.
ReplyDeleteJoyce M
What a beautiful flower. It reminds me of the movie Steel Magnolias. Love that movie! Thanks for linking this to Home Sweet Home Sarah!
ReplyDeleteSherry
Hi Sarah~ Beautiful blossoms! I so love the waxy foliage & large white blooms of the magnolia~ when they are pristine & new and also when they are "rusty" and faded! The scent is like faint gardenia to me... Hope you're surviving the heat in Texas!
ReplyDeleteMary
It is definitely a favorite bloom of mine, and I think the fragrance is clean and fresh. You have beautiful shots!
ReplyDeleteI love them too..Mine is finally blooming..just done..but the first real year with multiple beautiful blooms.. heavenly.
ReplyDeleteI love magnolias and these are gorgeous, Sarah!!
ReplyDeleteThey grow around here in our neighborhood as well, I just love the trees full of them. And the smell is so lovely. Great post, xxx
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have that kind here, only the pink ones that last a day.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! It must smell heavenly!
Hi, I came for Rednesday and enjoyed this post thoroughly as well! My senior mom is the gardening wiz but I LOVE any gorgeous flowers that just keep coming back lovely each year and the Magnolia is definitely one of my faves. I don't have any in my landscaping designs but some of my neighbors do, so I get to enjoy theirs and now yours. Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous blooms and the photos are so beautiful! Simple beauty is sometimes the best.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining the garden party,
Candy
Very beautiful shots, Sarah! And, very informative as well.
ReplyDeleteXo,
Sena
:)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely splendid! What a gorgeous flower. So white and crisp but at the same time soft. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteKaren
Ladybug Creek
Magnolias are so beautiful and your photos are extraordinary. Truly gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYours are so pretty, Sarah. Ours are unhappy due to this crazy heat. Our heat indexes have been over 100 degrees!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty photos.
Sarah, I love Magnolia trees. Not only the flowers, but the leaves are so pretty and can be used in so many different types of decorations. Beautiful photos. laurie
ReplyDeleteI do declare. You are very informative. I was hoping to have magnolia blossoms for my crawfish boil. I offered a friend's small daughter-in-law a price per blossom if she would scale trees for me. She declined. The florist I checked with said there was a shortage and unpredictability just now because of floods in Colombia!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I went another route. The sky opened up just about party time. It was a welcome rain but my centerpieces were completely ruined.
Merci à M. Magnol!
Hello Sarah,
ReplyDeletethose Magnolias are real beautys. I love the crispy white and the elegant shape.
Best greetings,Johanna
Gorgeous photos of the Magnolia!
ReplyDeleteSandra Evertson
STUNNING photos of these gorgeous magnolias!!! I love, love, LOVE magnolias! We bought our first (VERY OLD!) house partly because of the 2 huge magnolias in the front.
ReplyDeleteWe actually have a magnolia tree here on our lot in Italy. It's surreal--it's right next to a palm tree!!!!
It has one blossom way up on top and I'm hoping it will blossom all over soon!!!!!!
Hugs/blessings,
Lana
You have hit it right on! Magnolias are God's gift to us, aren't they? LOVE THEM. I even named my cat Magnolia. :)
ReplyDeleteDonna
These are gorgeous shots! What a great post. I love magnolias. They are so lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for joining in for Fresh-Cut Friday! :)
~Liz
Wow, such a beautiful flower! The all white color is lovely! Mine are a pink color. Ours are done blooming but when they were it was a wonderful smell to enjoy! Your photos are beautiful, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, these are amongst my favorite trees here in Minneapolis. My neighbor has a PINK one that just takes our breathes away....dearest Sara, what a fun post and it gives me tickles to know that SPRING IS FINALLY HERE FOR US! Thank you for coming to my PRovence...such peace there for me....have a lovely weekend , Anita
ReplyDeleteWe have a ton of them around here too - one in my rear neighbor's garden has grown so fast and now towers over the fence dropping those huge leaves on my lawn, sigh! They are messy trees and requires lots of clean up rounds the base, BUT worth it for the beautiful blooms and their delicious fragrance.
ReplyDeleteSummer in the South wouldn't be the same without the magnolia blossoms!
Sarah, Thank you for sharing these pretty pictures at my party. Growing up we had a very large magnolia tree in the front yard and I have always loved the blooms.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Sherry
Sarah, to walk among the Magnolias for your morning walk and have the beautiful fragrance surround you would be enchanting, and very motivating to get out and walk. Our neighborhood is not old enough to have such beautiful mature trees, but I grew up around them as a child and know the beauty of these wonderful trees.
ReplyDelete~Emily
The French Hutch
I become mesmerized. What luck to live in an area full of magnolia. Where I live is too cold. I Onkar you a great weekend! Zinnia
ReplyDeleteAwh Sarah, my most favorite. From my yard to the park I walk each morn among the Magnolias as if planted one after another, their sweet smell envelopes me in buttery smoothness their petals as thick as velvet; what so tender to bruise, so enjoy them quick -- Blessings Terri www.morningdewdrops.typepad.com
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteOn our trip to Florida we drove through Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia...everywhere the magnolias were blooming..such a lovely time to be in the South when they are in full bloom! Thanks for sharing your lovely magnolias..they are grand!
Miss Bloomers
Sarah, thanks for stopping by and telling me you featured magnolias, too! I can never get enough of their beauty!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites...beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteThe magnolia has to be one of the most elegant flowers. Ours don't have any perfume, but I guess that is their protest at being forced to grow so far north!
ReplyDeleteThe magnolia is one of my favorites. It is too hot, dry and windy here for them to do well. We do have some scattered over town but they never look like the ones around Austin.
ReplyDeleteMy brother lives in Arkansas and they have the biggest trees with huge blooms and the whole town smells wonderful.:)
hugs, bj
Magnolia trees are beautiful! I haven't lived in Texas long but noticed them in some yards. I wanted to pick a blossom but was afraid to ask. They are just breath taking! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBlessings My Friend,
I so wish I had a magnolia tree, I might have to give it a try. The blooms are so beautiful and your blooms are so very large and I bet just smell wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing one of our daily gifts with us! blessings, Marlis
ReplyDeleteOne of these days we've got to get you to share where you keep it all, but I'm so glad you've joined Seasonal Sundays none the less. I'd love to know where you keep all of that wonderful McKC loot!
ReplyDelete- The Tablescaper
My husband and I took a walk tonight (after the sun went down since it is so hot) and at one point we stopped just to take in the beautiful fragrance of a magnolia tree in full bloom. It's so amazingly beautiful both to see and to smell.
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful flowers and the scent...well, overwhelmingly wonderful! They are blooming here as well now too. I stopped while leaving the gym last week to take a big sniff of a blossom ~ heavenly.
ReplyDeleteI love magnolias..their sweet fragrance is soo heavenly!I wish I had magnolias in my yard. You have captured their beauty so beautifully... thanks for sharing with us. I appreciate you stopping by and for your lovely comment. Have a wonderful weekend!~Poppy
ReplyDeletehttp://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/
Hello, sweetie, I came by to see your dish storage and...can't find it..?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! I've never seen a real live magnolia. I wish we could at least grow the pink variety here.
ReplyDeleteAT
So beautiful...thanks for sharing these lovely blossoms...I can almost smell them. My first memory of the Magnolia is of the huge trees that grew in my grandparents' front yard...in Texas, of course!
ReplyDeleteJermaine
Gorgeous! We used to have a large magnolia in our yard when I was a child. I remember trying to reach up to pick one of the flowers but never was tall enough. My mom would finally come out and cut one. We'd put it in a jar and she'd tell me not to touch it so it wouldn't turn brown. Of course, I didn't listen b/c I just had to touch that creamy velvet flower!
ReplyDeleteYour magnolia is gorgeous. I'm not sure we could grow them in our area..your's is wonderful..
ReplyDeletehugs ~lynne~
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThe magnolia tree is my favoritest tree ever! Love those gorgeous flowers. I had a little one, just barely starting to grow, when we got a gopher problem. They dug everything up. Poor little one, I'm sad to say he didn't make it :-( Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures. Have a wonderful day.
Hugs and Kisses,
♥Ana