Not-Quite-Wordless Wednesday: Magnolias!
Not-Quite-Wordless Wednesday: Magnolias!
On Wednesdays, all across the Internet, it’s a tradition for bloggers to post a photograph with no words — or few words — to explain or describe it. The idea is that the photo itself says so much that it needs no explanation or description.
This post is going to be Almost Wordless, because I have a few thoughts and musings. I’ve lived in the South for twenty years now, and there are magnolia trees everywhere. But for some reason, this year the magnolias are catching my attention because they’re blooming more heavily than I’ve ever seen before.
I’m talking specifically about the large, evergreen tree, Magnolia grandiflora. These have always seemed to bloom rather sparsely, not at all like the deciduous, spring blooming star magnolias that always flower spectacularly early in the season.
But for the first time I can remember, every magnolia I see actually has clusters of the creamy white flowers, rather than the usual single blossoms that are sporadically spaced on the huge trees. Has anyone else noticed this?
As I’ve been driving through the neighborhood with my eyes on the trees, I’ve wondered if our unusually cold winter had anything to do with this myriad of blooms, or if magnolias somehow experience cycles that repeat every two or three decades — I’ve heard that oak trees go through cycles, with certain years producing bumper crops of acorns.
If anyone has any insights or observations of their own, please leave a comment! ♣
© H. Brucker 2010, photos & text All rights reserved
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I saw magnolias for the first time in person while on a university campus in Florida this spring. I got to wondering. When the flowers get pollinated, do the trees produce some kind of fruit or nut or something.