Monday, June 4, 2018

The Magnolias Are In Bloom



 Breathe deeply and take in the intoxicating scent.  
The Magnolias are in bloom!

 We don't have a magnolia tree growing in our yard,
but fortunately magnolias are abundant in our neighborhood.

 On occasion, I'll snip a bloom or two
from a neighbor's tree to bring into our home.

Few treees have such a magnificant bloom.

 The blooms are short lived, but oh my,
the fragrance is exotic and intoxicating.

 The magnolia tree is an ancient genus.
With many varieties, it is the Magnolia Grnadiflora
that commonly grows here in Austin.


The Magnolia is a 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

Join me on the 
terrace for a cup of tea.

We'll talk spring gardens and take in the beauty
and fragrance of my neighbors' magnolia trees.

Joining  Pam @ Everyday Living
for her first Gardens Galore Party of 2018.

Sarah
Sarah

The summer we married, my husband was in graduate school, and I was employed as a teacher. We took a portion of our savings that summer and purchased a sailboat. We christened our Catalina 22, “Hyacinths For The Soul” after Saadi’s poem. Our "Hyacinths" provided years of pleasure.

27 comments:

  1. I don't have magnolia trees in my yard either but do love driving thru the neighborhood and enjoying their beautiful blooms.

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  2. Sarah, what a beautiful post to celebrate the gorgeous magnolia! I would love to walk in your neighborhood taking in their intoxicating fragrance. We planted our magnolia 39 years ago, I love its large fragrant blooms and the waxy leaves fill my home at Christmas! Thank you for your gorgeous photos and I would love to enjoy tea at your lovely table. Thanks for joining Gardens Galore!❤️

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  3. Gorgeous magnolias Sarah! My neighbor has a magnolia close to our driveway and the blooms are just starting to open.

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  4. Those magnolias are gorgeous. I love their intense white colour, like thick cream.

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  5. The blooms are so beautiful and I can just imagine the smell. :)

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  6. Sarah, your post is truly special to me, not just because it is a beautiful post but because it brings back treasured memories for me. I spent my childhood summers with my grandmother in Mississippi and I have such vivid memories of the streets lined with old and wonderful magnolias. Thank you for a wonderful post and also for visiting my blog this morning(Sandra at Maison De Jardin).

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  7. Beautiful magnolia blooms Sarah! Our tree is blooming but most of the blooms are beyond my reach and my camera lens! I certainly enjoy using the foliage to deck the halls with at Christmas too!

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  8. Beautiful macros. Thanks for sharing. Tea sounds lovely. Happy Mosaic Monday

    much love...

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  9. Sarah, I love being anywhere near these beauties. An early morning walk with their scent in the air is so intoxicating. We have a lot of magnolias in our town but sadly no mature trees in the neighborhood. Love your vignettes, so pretty. Hope you are enjoying a wonderful week. It’s not so hot here and the humidity had dropped with the departure of Alberto. Nice to be outside.......

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  10. Oh Sarah, this makes me miss my magnolias that I had on either side of the pool lanai in FL!! The fragrance is intoxicating & I remember Ernie telling me that many prom corsages in his day contained magnolias. Lovely post bringing back lovely memories!

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  11. A beautiful post, Sarah. Thanks for sharing your love for this magnificent bloom and sharing your lovely photos. I can almost smell the intoxicating fragrance of your floral arrangement! Rosie @ The Magic Hutch

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  12. I walk every morning and I'm enjoying the magnolias in bloom. Your lovely post reminds us how special and beautiful the magnolia is. Have a lovely week! Stay cool!

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  13. I fell in love with magnolias when I first started blogging. We don't have them in the Midwest. Imagine the little happy dance I did when we bought our place in Asheville and saw them in bloom everywhere. Just as pretty as the flower is the shiny leaves. Just beautiful!

    Love your pretty tea table. Wish I were there to sit and have a good chat with you, Sarah!

    Jane

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  14. Your excellent photos bring those glorious flowers to life on my laptop. So appreciate you sharing magnolias with us, so wonderful. How nice for you to have them close by to enjoy.
    I remember how I enjoyed the many beautiful flowers in KY altho they caused my allergy/asthma attacks. Bowling Green has many dogwood trees which bloom in April all over among several others. After living in the west where it's drier and has different plants, was lovely to experience (despite allergies/asthma). We had honeysuckle in hedge between our land and farm next door,heavenly scent. Thank heavens for my Flonase and Flovent.
    Enjoy those magnolias both in and outside. Would love to have cup of tea with you, get to see your McKenzie Phillips goodies.
    Happy week

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  15. oh your blooms are gorgeous Sarah! I love magnolias, and we do have a tree, they are such graceful beauties!
    Jenna

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  16. I can smell the fragrance from Montana, and can certainly imagine the silky texture of the flowers and the waxy feel of the leaves. Somehow, magnolias speak to me of lazy summer days in the South, sipping mint juleps on the wrap-around porch while the fans overhead slowly spin. Well, I can dream, right? Thanks for the inspiration!

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  17. Those are so beautiful. We have a couple of types of magnolias we grow up here but they don’t have the same leathery leaves and huge blossoms. I bet it’s quite a treat walking through your neighborhood and smelling them!

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  18. Beautiful magnolias.I know they smell heavenly.
    Your tea tray with your lovely MC pieces is beautiful. I would love to join you on the terrace.

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  19. I do not have a Magnolia tree, however, my neighbor has many and they are magnificent...over 40 feet tall....they let me clip some too..however, I won't have that privilege in a month or so...it's one thing leaving this house, but another leaving the most wonderful neighbors that I have!

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  20. Your magnolias are gorgeous. I don't have any here, but I want some...lol. What a pleasure to snip some to enjoy the lovely fragrance. I would love to join you on your terrace for a nice cup of tea Sarah. I am always admiring your beautiful MC collections.

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  21. I absolutely love magnolias - the leaves are perfect for any arrangement or display and there's nothing like the clean fragrance of the flowers, and the blooms are outstandingly beautiful. You've captured its essence wonderfully, Sarah.

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  22. We have an enormous magnolia tree in our front yard. It is covered in blooms as we speak!! I have been cutting bouquets for both the church and my work for several weeks. I am surrounded with beauty and fragrance!!
    Thank you for your beautiful post.
    Blessings,
    J

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  23. Oh my goodness, I can almost smell them! Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos at Vintage Charm! Pinned!

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  24. They are just stunning Sarah. I love them! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  25. I can't see a magnolia blossom and not think of the south. Lovely photos and I can just imagine what a wonderful fragrance they must have.

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  26. Sorry to be commenting so late but just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the post and lovely photos.

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