A Magnolia Tour

We took advantage of a break in the rain today and drove out to Gossler Farms Nursery in East Springfield. They had a spur-of-the-moment open house to celebrate their magnificent magnolia collection which is currently at peak bloom.

The magnolia trees aren't labeled, so I can't identify them by name in each picture. But I can say that many of the trees have huge trunks and must be decades old.

This gorgeous one was covered in deep violet blooms.

A close-up.

This tree almost looked like it had billowy rose blossoms.

Each bloom was a rounded mass of pink and white.

I don't think this magnolia could fit any more blooms on its branches!

Heavenly.

This magnolia had the most interestingly shaped buds and blooms. They were so pointed and cone-shaped and were a striking deep purple. When the bloom opened each petal was long and narrow. It gave the blooms an open, airy look.

Here's a pretty white bloom that had a under pink blush to the lower petal region.

I always forget that there are yellow magnolias but I really like them. The soft butter color really stands out in the trees.

And you can't forget the white blooms. Most of them were discolored from the rains but I found this perfect bloom on the end of this branch.

This grand tree is near the homes on the property. It is an un-named variety given tot he Gosslers by a magnolia hybridizer many years ago. He gave them the young un-named tree to grow and then passed away before naming it.

I loved the open center of each bloom.

Besides magnolias, the Gossler Farm property is s showroom for the many other shrubs, trees and perennials that they sell. This shrub was covered in these beautiful yellow cascading blooms. The air was sweet with its fragrance and the blooms were buzzing with happy pollinators.

This pine caught my eye. I fell in love with its cones, in all three stages. Here are some clusters of newly formed cones.

In middle-age the cones separate, turn a shocking lime-green and stand up straight down the branches.

In maturity the cones turn into these sweet, fat, brown sentinels that are dripping with sap.

Around every bend in the gardens there is something beautiful to see. We loved this old, moss covered bench getting slowly consumed by a rhododendron. And down by the creek we found a mass of lilac erythonium in bloom.