magnolia

my little stellata magnolia has just started to flower.... more buds than last year.  I hope we don't get the threatened snow on Monday.  I always love magnolias.  As a child I had one in the garden that I used to climb, it was huge.  We lived in a stable cottage on a large estate and I had the run of the gardens. My Mum worked as secretary to the owner. There were greenhouses, kitchen gardens, orchards, pastures and even a king's tennis court [one of very few in the country, there is still one at Hampton Court] for me to enjoy. Apparently, it could also be flooded as a skating rink at one stage. It must have been very grand in it's heyday  It had fallen into dis-repair, but I still enjoyed wandering inside, even climbing up onto the walkways above. Sadly it was eventually turned into flats , but we had moved by then.