Magnolia Time

Each year at this time of year I marvel over and over again at the stunning beauty of blossoming magnolia tree. And each time it fills me with delight as big as when I saw it for a first time. The large creamy goblet-like petals coloured in various shades of pink, from pale baby pink to deep cerise, furled outwards at the top are by far my favourite bloom in springtime. And this year, for a first time in thirty years I watched magnolia trees in my native town of Zagreb. There were lots of them around; huge, old gnarled trees and little, young fragile ones dotted around parks and street corners.There is a massive, biggest one I've ever seen in the park behind Mum's house. I spotted its treetop towering above other trees from the kitchen window and couldn't run out quick enough to admire its beauty. I just caught it in its last days of flowering; its delicious pink petals had already started to fall like faded leaves in early autumn.