A Tale of Two Magnolias

Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) in a neighbor's garden.  The scent is heavenly.  I can't get enough of it.

We are fortunate in the eastern United States to have many beautiful native trees.  Two of my favorites are magnolias:  Magnolia virginiana and Magnolia grandiflora.  

Magnolia virgiana, commonly known as sweetbay magnolia or swamp magnolia

I wish you could experience the scent of Magnolia virginiana flowers.  Intoxicating.  the tree is worth growing for that alone.  It is a smaller, slower growing tree than the more commonly planted M. grandiflora.  In our area the tree is semi-evergreen.

It is the type species of the genus Magnolia; as Magnolia is also the type genus of all flowering plants (magnoliophytes), this species in a sense typifies all plants. Magnolia is an ancient genus. Plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae date to 95 million years ago. (Wikipedia)

Magnolia grandiflora

With it's huge flowers and glossy leaves, Magnolia grandiflora is spectacular.  We are north of its natural range so select a cultivar that is suited to our climate.   At maturity this tree can reach 90 feet or more.  One of the pleasures of living in our region is to experience the beauty of a mature southern Magnolia.

Why native plants?

I used to select the plants for my garden based on their appearance (and maybe price).  As a Master Gardener I've gradually learned more about the role of our plant choices in providing habitat that is being lost at alarming rates.  Though our part of the world often looks very green, the diversity and quality of habitat is in decline.  Most of our wooded areas, for example, are full of invasive species.  Often new trees are not able to grow due to heavy deer browsing.  If each of us tries to plant natives -- canopy trees, understory trees, shrubs, perennials and groundcover -- we can help mitigate native plant losses.  

Why plant a native tree?  Here's just one example.  The native dogwood (Cornus florda) supports 117 species of native moths and butterflies.   The Asian dogwood (Cornus kousa) supports no native insect herbivores (from Dr. Doug Tallamy, University of Delaware entomologist).  Often there are very complex relationships between plants and insects, birds and other animals.  When a native plant is no longer growing in an area, creatures dependent on that plant are also lost.  The web of life unravels.  

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Native dogwoods in bloom at the National Arboretum.

Virginia Bluebells

The Markoff family home is one of my favorite places to visit in spring -- what a delight to find native plants in bloom under trees rather than the typical landscape of lawn.

Mertensia virginica (Virginia bluebells) is a native spring ephemeral plant with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers.  In early summer, each fertilized flower produces four seeds and the plant goes dormant until spring.  Butterflies and bumblebees pollinate the flowers.  It will naturalize when planted in a shady woodland.

God bless the ground, I shall walk softly there

Spring beauties (claytonia virginica) and wild violet (viola papilionacea)

Happy 108th Birthday to the poet Theodore Roethke! When the tiny spring flowers push up through the soggy mud and begin to bloom, I think of the words of his 1953 poem The Waking,

Of those so close beside me, which are you?   

God bless the Ground!  I shall walk softly there,   

And learn by going where I have to go. 

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?   

The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;   

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. 

Great Nature has another thing to do   

To you and me; so take the lively air,   

And, lovely, learn by going where to go. 

You can read the full poem here. 

There are so many "close beside" us in this growing and blooming season. As we take time to learn which are which and who is who, we become aware of how abundantly full the earth is. I used to look into the forest and see a tangled mass of green. But by watching, each season I've become better at distinguishing individuals. I look forward to the arrival of my favorites and wish a blessing on their growing. My eyes have also sharpened on my less favored, the many over-reaching invasives that choke out the diversity, the native but voracious poison ivy that only the berry eating birds can love. 

Going forward on the blog we will be posting more about the many living beings in our area. 

Hello World

Cephalanthus occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that is native to eastern and southern North America.  It grows 3 - 10 feet as a woody shrub and prefers moist soil and will even tolerate standing water.  It's showy flowers are fragrant and attract butterflies.  Tolerates full sun to shade. I have planted three in a low-lying area of our yard where rain collects.  

This is the first in a series on plants native to our area.  If you have a favorite native plant, please email us a photo and brief description..

Button Bush