Magnolia Moments

Magnolia Black Tulip

Magnolia Stellata

Magnolia with pink flowers

There’s something about shrubs and trees that flower first before any of their leaves appear. And the Magnolia is one of my favourites.

The first time I discovered Magnolias was when my mum came over to New Zealand in 1996 and we took her to the Palmerston North Esplanade.

While Frans was looking after the children at the playground, I had a chance to walk with my mother through the park’s lovely walkway.

It was September and at that stage there was a beautiful white Magnolia blooming.

I can remember looking up in awe at the huge cup-like shape of the flower.

From that point onwards I have always had a fascination with Magnolias.

Unfortunately, at that time we didn’t have any Magnolia at the place where we lived.

Once a friend gave me a clipping of the variety growing in his garden but, alas, nothing grew even after four months.

Now to my great joy, Thyme Out has a range of varieties growing on the estate.

The one I particularly like is the Magnolia Black Tulip. I read in the newspaper that it is bred locally in New Zealand by breeders Felix and Mark Jury.

We also have the Magnolia Stellata (which turned out to be the first one to flower) and we also have a lovely pink one.

After doing a quick tally, I discovered that I have around six Magnolias growing in the Thyme Out gardens.

What a blessing and a great enjoyment to see the pods opening to produce those beautiful flowers.

— Miranda