Dear March, come in!How glad I am!
I looked for you before.
Put down your hat --
You must have walked --
How out of breath you are!
Emily Dickinson captured my thoughts exactly with her whimsical poem about March! I am so glad March finally came and I was looking for it for weeks . . .
And, when it came, it brought blooms for our Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata).
For the first time in several years the blooms were not damaged by late ice or frost - and so they are perfectly white and really lovely in the stark winter landscape. 
If you're looking for a small ornamental tree (zones 4-9), consider this graceful early bloomer. It's easy to grow and, according to a neighbor, easy to propagate . . . I'll be trying this myself in a few weeks and will let you know!In the meantime, I'm off to read Emily's poem in its entirety (click here).
The star magnolia is so beautiful. It makes me think I should have one, which seems to be my general response to your blog posts. The poem is also beautiful, although I had to really force myself NOT to sing it to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme music. Wagner is similarly ruined by the wonderful Bugs Bunny rendition. So much for culture.
ReplyDeleteYour photos of the star magnolia are really lovely. What a beautiful tree.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments - I must admit it was pure chance that we have this tree, it was already planted when we moved in!
ReplyDeleteChristine, I know what you mean about Wagner, but I do actually like the Bugs Bunny version, too!
Those are beautiful, and I know what you mean about the early frosts. Somehow we have managed to sneak through this year.
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