Magnolia

[poliphilo]

The magnolias are in bloom- indeed are already in deliquescence. The one in the courtyard at the bottom of Roselands Avenue has a good percentage of its blossoms turning to mush on the paving stones. Ailz and I shout out to one another whenever we spot a magnolia. They seem to be less common in gardens here than they were in the Weald of Kent so perhaps the seaside climate disagrees with them- a thought- possibly erroneous- that is stopping us from planting one ourselves. Ailz came up with a mind-stretching fact yesterday: Magnolia is adapted for pollination by beetles- and this because it's an ancient tree and came into existence before the bees and the butterflies and the moths....