Songs of the South

[gadgetman]

Here is a picture of our Magnolia Tree in the front yard taken this morning. It is covered in blooms. The tree was planted in the 1930s by my Wife's Great-Great Grandmother.

Enjoy Y'all and,

May God Bless

Danny

 

[gadgetman]

Close up of a flower

Close up of a flower

The little white specks are flowers. Sorry about the quality of the picture. Here is a closeup of one flower.

Enjoy and remember Clark Gable's line to Vivien Leigh in 1939's Gone With the Wind won the list of the American Film Institute's top 100 quotes from US movies
Rhett Butler said it best - "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[Ross]

Yeap, be right over with my chain saw.

 

[Mary]

Yeap, be right over with my chain saw.

Forget that chain saw and get your shovel out! I want that tree in MY Yard!
Don't worry; Danny will help you.

 

[Karlynn]

Ah, I'm so jealous. My husband gave me a Magnolia for Mother's Day several years ago. Just a wee thing, about 3 feet. The next year he then proceeded to run over it with the lawn tractor. (He's been know to kill many of my saplings that way. Just drives the darn thing too fast!)

I'll be over with my Mint Julip directly.

 

[gadgetman]

Ross,

I think you would be facing the wrong end of a 12 guage if you showed up with a chain saw . And the wife would be the one holding it . They might find you years from now back in the gulleys .

Mary,

Bring a BIIIIIIIG shovel . Bubba ain't allowed to do no shoveling yet .

Karlynn,

Sounds like me when I get on my tractor with the bush hog (a six foot mower for you city folk). The wife had been after me to cut around the house several years back because the grass had gotten too tall. She said "cut it with the bush hog". I told her the bush hog doesn't care what it cuts and once it does it is gone forever . After several bushes and two rakes were eaten (not on purpose I might add) she NEVER asked me to use the bush hog around the house again .

I'll have the ice ready. As a matter of fact we will get fresh mints out of my sister-in-law's garden next door.

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[Marguerite53]

wow. It's gorgeous

wow. It's gorgeous

Ross!!!!!!!!! You're HORRIBLE!!

Danny, that's a fabulous story! And a magnificent tree. I adore magnolias. We tried like crazy to grow one at our old house, but it never got enough water (and didn't like the neighbors any better than we did -- we planted it in the back corner for all to appreciate) and grew all spindly. Flowers were nice, though, and huge.

One of my favorite songs ever is by J.J. Cale called Magnolia. Do you know it?

Thanks for sharing.

Marguerite

 

[Ross]

Ross,

I think you would be facing the wrong end of a 12 guage if you showed up with a chain saw . And the wife would be the one holding it .

Oooo an active sports woman. I like that. Send her over immediately.

 

[Granbonny]

Danny

Danny

Yes, Magnolia's are beautifull..but..raking underneath them When they drop those HUGE leaves. Lived with them all my Southern Life... ..Ask your wife again about the great-great-Grandmother planting it in 1930"s... Are you sure it wasn't her Grandmother? or a very old g-Grandmother....?...My Grandmother was born in 1893....G-Grandmother in 1870 and g-great Grandmother before the Civil War.. Just kidding..but I don't think anyone's G-G-Grandmother was still living in 1930.... Bet it was her Grandmother... ...Bonnie..(B/T/W..named for Bonnie Blue Butler) Rhett's daughter..in Gone with the Wind Born in 1940..

 

[bvdr]

Love the picture! I picked up some of the pods with the magnolia seeds from under the big magnolia tree by our library. I planted them in the lot we own next door. I haven't seen any sign of a tree yet through. I guess I could break down and buy one to plant. You have to give them a LOT of room through since they can get so big!

 

[hensylee]

Betty, you will never get one from seeds. I don't know how they grow, but I tried the seed thing and it just do NOT happen! We have 'em all over in our woods - new ones all the time. Guess you just have to dig one up and replant. The raking of the leaves is just awful. The leaves are huge and at the tip of each leaf, it's like a sharp thorn. Also they get these black ants in them and when you bring the flower in to put it in a vase, you also get a few black ants.

HOWEVER that being said, they are among my favorite flowers. They smell like gardenias. Danny is blessed to have such a tree that his gmother (however many greats) planted. On our next property there is a HUGE one that my neighbor planted. She built onto that property in the 1940s. She was so proud of the tree, but she really hated the raking. Even unto her death at 98, she was still raking her yard every day - and taking herself, dog, cat for a walk. Ah, the ladies of the country south are a strong bunch, eh?

 

[gadgetman]

The rest of the story (or the real story)

The rest of the story (or the real story)

Got my Magnolia Tree facts a little screwed up (maybe its that PUMPHEAD). Finally got with the Pa-in-Law for the story. He said his Grandma planted it just before her death in 1911. Said his Great-Grandma, his Grandma, and his Father lived in this house before the Depression, when they lost the farm literally .

Anyway its OLD.

Marguerite,

I did a little research and found that the Red seed can not be planted as is. You have to take the outer coating off, clean the seed inside with something (dish soap is recommended) to get the mosture seal off, and plant this seed. It sometimes takes up to 18 months to even see a tree and 18 to 20 YEARS to get a bloom. No wonder I don't see any "volunteers" growing under our tree.

Ross,

Don't know about the ACTIVE part but she can hit what she shoots at. She got an 8 point buck deer in our back yard a year after we moved here.


Bonnie,

Never raked a leaf since we've been here. A mulching mower does a fantastic job of chopping them up. I leave the rest at the base of the tree as a natural mulch. I (as my wife has pointed out more than once) need to clean out the bushes from under the tree. Where is that "roun tuit"? Hope the 1911 date clarified the "who done it".

Ann,

After my research about growing (see above), seeds take a long, long time. The article I read (did an internet search) said they can also be grown by grafting. Or you can do the easy thing and buy a tree and plant it. They now have a "Dwarf Magnolia" that doesn't get as large. Georgia has been planting them at their interstate rest stops.

May God Bless,

Danny