Magnolia
Lucky for us that we have different sections of the garden, because this tree completely dominates the west side of the garden. It is particularly beautiful when in full flower, and people come to photograph it.
It is, however, a very messy tree! It starts with the buds. When they are ready to open, the fur-like jackets that cover the buds are thrown off. They really do look and feel like fur.
Then there come the petals, which turn the whole garden pink as they fall. They look lovely, until it rains, then they turn to very slippery slush. Following the flowers, the leaves develop, and again, when they fall, they completely cover the garden.
The leaves are collected and stored, and make very useful leaf mould. In addition, there are the rather large seed pods, which again are thrown to the ground in large numbers. When it has finished throwing all it can to the ground, it throws random branches down!
The tree has grown considerably since we moved in and has had to be cut back because it was growing over the vegetable plots and blocking the light. We are very careful, however, to maintain its lovely symmetrical shape.
This smaller Magnolia is situated at the front of the property, and is a very pale pink compared to the Campbellii. I am not sure about the species of this tree. Although smaller, it does contribute to the carpet of petals.
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