Magnificent magnolias

This time of year I am captivated by the Magnolia Grandiflora that came with the garden when we moved here all those years ago. At that time it was tiny. spindly and struggling in a very crowded part of the garden. I have no idea how long it had been there but while that over-crowding persisted for the next few years it made scarcely any progress - it simply held its own, staying alive but getting no bigger and never flowering. Then we took out two thuggish conifers and it found that it had light and breathing space and it began to grow and in gratitude produced a flower or two each year.  A couple of years later we took out a honey suckle and its collapsing pergola  and gave the magnolia nothing more competitive than a summerhouse to cast its shade over and it has been truly magnificent and flourishing ever since. Each year I find myself smiling when I reach the point where I realise I have lost count of the flowers for the season.

The leaves are rich, green and glossy on the top and a russet velour on the underside. Yes, there is a time in late spring when it drops a lot of them onto the lawn but that is all in preparation for the tour de force about to happen.

The petals are luxuriously thick with the texture of finest glove leather and an exotic, lemony scent. The central boss defies all the thick scuptural quality of the leaves and petals with an intricate arrangement of stamens. Even when the flower is spent and the petals fall there is still something fascinating to look at. The boss having dropped its stamens now looks like delicate little brush with a magenta handle.

 I love the parchment colour of the fallen petals. The other day while I was out indulging in my admiration for this tree I noticed  these two dropped petals in particular.

I make no secret of the fact that I like to dabble when it comes to crafts but I found myself wishing that I had the skills and know-how to replicate these in some form of pottery.  Wouldn't they would be wonderful little dishes with their upturned handles and glazed with that speckled mixture of cream and caramel? Somehow I can't see any great satisfaction in attempting the replication in any of the fabric and yarn crafts I have tried. I feel compelled to record the inspiration here, never-the-less. May be one day...