... I heard it from the lips of Frog Pond himself this very morning... the time for spring fever has arrived, and I for one am conceding without protest! I know I said I was ok with holding off for awhile... but that was before the gardens became beset with rabbits... I can hardly believe all the damage... possibly in the hundreds of dollars. This snow must go, and going it is. In fact, the snow level dropped at least 8" in the past couple days and now it's raining... a lot. Before long the trees will have snow levels well below the height of the wrappings I did last fall and the rabbit damage will hopefully slow down.
Today I'm posting more reminders of what's missing in my life just now... #1 on my list is the color green and of course the rainbow of colors that accompany the green throughout our gardening season are a close second... not to mention fragrances from the gardens and textures... gosh... I love it all and the perfect normal schedule for its return is unfolding at this very moment. Yes a normal year so far... what a blessing!
Last year was what I hope might be considered an anomaly.
For our area of the midwest (NE Wisconsin) we had 8" of snow on 3/2, 75 degrees on 3/16, the first of the daffodils on 3/17, 84-85 degrees from 3/18 through 3/22, and tulips opening on 3/22. These are all at least a month too soon and 80's are July temperatures here...the damage to the gardens while not necessarily permanent, was significant because April was cold... frost and freeze cold!
Can you believe that I didn't plant a single magnolia last season?! I suspect I'll be making up for it this year... right now the list includes the following thirteen, although the last two I haven't been able to locate thus far. A number of these are newer cultivars developed by my friend Dennis Ledvina... they are cold hardy and long blooming; many are quite fastigiate which means more plants in less space!
I've included descriptions from the source catalogs...
1. Jean Louise... cream blooms tinted with spring green and suffused with pink shades that deepen at the base plus light lavender streaks. 12' x 6' wide at ten years and zone 4 hardy
2. Elegant Spring... Leonard Messel x White Rose... ivory blooms with inner hints of pink, fragrant with 24 tepals and blooms well at 5'... 12-15' x 8' wide in ten years. Zone 4 hardy.
3. Holland Rose... Fragrant tulip-like blossoms with six tepals striped lavender-red-purple muting to lighter towards the tepal's end. Inner side of tepals is white. 100 blooms at 7' and blooms to base of plant. 7' x 5' wide in 10 years. Zone 4 hardy.
4. Ivory Jewel... Large creamy yellow interior and blush pink exterior flowers with nine tepals... Vigorous, hardy with narrow growth to 8' x 8' wide in ten years. 'Big Dude' x 'Woodsman'
5. Lois... newer from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden... zone 4 hardy and blooms later than Elizabeth with non-fading intense lemon yellow... 4-5 week bloom period... 25-30' tall x 20' wide... this should extend my magnolia season.
6. Purple Star Power... heavy bloomer with blooms of rich purple and ivory interiors... Parent tree had 150 blooms at seven feet. Blooms from top to bottom! 7' x 6' wide in ten years.
7. Spring Petticoats... 28 tepals in ivory with soft pink undersides and inner rose flares. Zone 4 hardy and 12-15' x 8' wide at ten years.
8. Spring Royalty... Very fragrant with deep royal purple-red petals with ivory-white interiors... 6 tepals and blooms young. 15-18' x 8-10' wide at ten years.
9. Sunsation... deep yellow and very late blooming... extremely upright...Woodsman x Elizabeth... 10' x 6' wide at ten years and zone 4 hardy
10. Wedding Vows... graceful large ivory blossoms that trail like a wedding dress... Zone 4 hardy and 16' x 8' wide at ten years.
11. The Parson's Choice... Fragrant blooms with deep, red-purple outside and ivory with a blush of royal purple-red at base. Blooms top to bottom and 7' x 5' wide in 10 years with zone 4 hardiness.
12. Cotton Candy... if I can find a source... this is to die for, a cross between two other magnolias I have in my collection (Red Baron and Blushing Belle). It has huge flowers with nine broad tepals that are medium pink on both the interior and exterior and carries the appearance of campbellii but is extremely hardy... I will find this, if not this year... the next!
13. Royal Splendor is another magnolia that I'm searching for. It is said to be very intense reddish pink that "glows like a beacon in the distance".
While it's never too late to plant a tree, I will be in my 70's when these magnolias reach their ten year size... I can see the future in my mind's eye... a really old man sitting in a lawn chair, surrounded by weeds but unconcerned as he looks up at 1000's of magnolia blooms... sounds ok to me!
It won't be long now!! Larry
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