Magnolia Time

A young magnolia tree is blooming outside my living room window. It reminds me of the enormous tree in the side yard at the Alexandria summer house, ninos. Do you remember that big tree we sat beneath to eat our morning snacks? Most of the blossoms were already gone when we arrived, but it was a lovely old tree and gave a lot of shade. My condo (Uncle Judd and Aunt Sandy's condo which I am renting from them) is on the second floor so I have an excellent close-up view of the tree as it buds and blossoms.

Here are the first little blossom "nodes" as they form on the branches. See how tiny they are?

These are the magnolia "buds" which grow from those early little nodes. Aren't they pretty, they look like elongated rose buds.

These are the blossoms that occur when the buds open. They have such a bold pink color. The sun turns the outer petals brownish yellow, but the insides are a deep rose and a delicate pink. I wish you were here to look out the window with me and watch the magnolia tree go through its spring cycle. This is a beautiful place, and we will find many things to look at when you come to visit this summer.