Magnolia Magic
I took this photograph on Wednesday afternoon. I had driven past this same tree a couple of times earlier in the day and admired the cloud of white blooms, hanging over a garden fence against a deep blue sky. On the third occasion I just had to stop the car and get out to look more closely and take a photograph.
Magnolia magic
In truth I could have stopped the car several times on Wednesday as it seemed so many houses had magnolia trees in front gardens! I was reminded of a walk I had taken around Hackney with Emma Dogliani for the last plant story of series one. Emma had written these words:
My Magnolia is my only ever success of the gardening variety. When it flowers, people even stop and admire it when they pass by. At Christmas we hang red baubles on it and it gets more attention. What the passers by don’t know is that I planted it about 26 years ago in a pot in Willesden after a sad little trip to the garden centre with my husband Serg. I had just miscarried my first pregnancy at 3 months and someone suggested it might be a positive thing to plant a tree as a kind of memorial. ….what I didn’t know when I was planting my Magnolia with Serg (I wish I had) was that 26 years on it would still be growing and flowering and I would be lucky enough to have gone on to have 3 healthy children. Since then, when other horrible things have happened, I have often looked back years later and thought, I wish I’d known how things would turn out, then I’d have found it so much easier to cope. Of course I have been incredibly lucky and things don’t always turn out OK in time, but it’s surprising how many things do.
Emma shared her plant story and we had a conversation with Joe Woodcock, a former RHS teacher of mine. During his career he worked for the Royal Parks and the Royal Borough of Greenwich running the tree management department there, so his knowledge of trees is extensive. He named his favourite magnolias as:
So if you too are admiring magnolias thinking would I want one in my garden this could be the episode to listen to. There is advice on growing and caring for them in pots as well as the best time to plant them in your garden. Jo who once transported a magnolia from the UK to Spain, apparently the person had a big car and it was a stellata, gives us advice on the merits of different varieties. If you have a favoured one in a friends garden there is also advice on how to take a cutting later in May or June, though you will have to be patient when it comes to flowers.
In next month’s Plant Story and Offshoot we are going to be discussing seeds. I don’t know about you but my instagram feed is full of people sharing pics of their seed sowing. I might be looking for a bit of listener participation not so much on how you sow your seeds but where you store them - watch this space.
Finally I promised I would send a signed copy of Kathy Slack’s new book Rough Patch to one of the coffee crew or regular plant plug supporters. Before I reveal the winner can I just share this lovely comment from Buy Me A Coffee:
My Mum - BRAND new to the world of podcasts, and yours is the very first she wishes to hear, my Dad (by virtue of Mum!) and I are buying you a coffee each. WE'll have a cuppa while we listen together and she finds her poddie-feet. Kate xx
I so hope that Kate’s mum (and dad) enjoy the podcast and having found her poddie-feet she goes onto listen to many more.
Finally congratulations to Lucy one of the Plant Plug crew - your name has come out of the plant pot and I will be sending you the copy of Kathy’s book.
Have a lovely weekend
Sally
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