African Garden + Spring

Mmmm... Magnolia

How I love my Magnolia stellata* in the spring, there's nothing else quite like it. Big, multi-petalled fragrant blooms, white with pink at the base create an extravagant display... except when they don't. For the past two years I've been limited to posting images such as this:

a closeup of a single bloom because of the pitiful lack of blooms. The tree was suffering from a magnolia scale attack. I had feared the decline meant the beginning of the end for the tree. It required professional help to get it back in health.

I'm happy to report that the tree appears to have made a full recovery. It must be at least 30 years old, and hopefully will bloom for many more springs.

*I'm not certain of the identity of this tree, but it appears to be of the stellata family. It could be Magnolia x loebneri 'Ballerina'.