An old student learning new things

 I have been getting acclimated to this place and am getting to know the forest just south of the mountain. The climate, geology, plants and animals are new to me. I am having to learn new things, and some of this education has been funny.

On Feb. 7, I found a budding tree, and the buds looked just like young magnolia burrs. They were soft and fuzzy, like a rabbit’s foot. But this tree didn’t have a leaf on it. The magnolias I knew in Texas are those that I see in the forest here: they have leaves year round.

I found this specimen in East Atlanta Village, a trendy place full of young people and bagel shops. I asked some young folks about the budding tree, and they looked at me as if I’d lived a sheltered life and perhaps never been to the big city before.

Of course, they’re magnolias!

The kind I’m used to is Magnolia grandiflora, and the kind I’m getting used to is M. liliiflora, which comes from Asia but is loved by gardeners here.

For the past six weeks, they’ve exploded into bloom everywhere. The flowers are huge, and the colors often range on the same petal: white, pink, mauve, maroon and purple.

Already, they are fading. Petals in those miraculous colors are thick and deep on many lawns.