This is Magnolia time. And every year there is some slight discord in this house as Charles insists he prefers (prefers, note) the bud to the blossom. Well, I can’t go along with that.
Look at those! and Charles took the pic. (Thank you, Charles)
Or these! (Thanks again, Charles) Both photographs from Caerhays Castle Garden, Cornwall.
But it’s interesting, because the whole thing from bud to blossom is a journey (sorry, I know you’re fed up of that word) and I find myself wondering what is the peak point of this trip?
Which would your rather?
When is the peak?
You can say that each day is a joy in itself. Well, of course it is. That’s why we take endless Instagram pics so everyone can enjoy each delightful day as a bud develops. But when I look at a bud I am also anticipating what the bud will become. For me it has not arrived when it is simply in bud. Part of my pleasure is in the process, and the waiting until – well, until it flowers. Flowering is the point. It is for a bee and it is for me.
Here is a tulip bud. Very beautiful. But – it’s just on its way. (From https://www.farmergracy.co.uk/products/tulip-irenes-heirloom-collection-bulbs-uk)
And there’s beauty in the just begining to open thing too.
Another tulip.
This is special – roses do it from bud to blossom, definitely:
It was good enough to be picked.
But I’m waiting for this!?
Well, all right, a bud sneaked in there too…
When has it gone?
Then there’s the going over. When does that happen and do we like that? Is there a tipping point when pleasure turns to distaste? That’s perhaps more obvious with cut flowers, when we have to decide when to throw them away. It’s always hard to let them go but it’s also true that the pleasure they offer does diminish as you start to think about how the petals will be all over the floor when you pick up the vase to chuck them.
Once when I was on holiday we bought some anemones (coronaria) and I photographed them every day (see here https://veddw.com/general/decay/) . I think I finished too soon – it was probably the end of the holiday – as they had only just started to go over, and now I wonder just how they would have looked as they did it. Shrivel or drop? (hint to flower purchasers) But taking a series of photographs may make it possible to tell just when the peak and then tipping point is.
Yesterday we were looking at these tulips and wondering if they’d had it.
A closer look tells you maybe not?
How do we tell when a flower is at its best? By close watching. That way we’ll enjoy every moment.
But also, I think our feeling tells us. Look at a bud or flower and there is a little lift of the spirits (if all is relatively well in your world). Whether it is lift of sprits or a slight lowering perhaps tells us when the flower’s time is done?
One definitely gone. And one on the way.
Well……..? (Magnolia Grandiflora bud)
And yet
Some buds might just change my mind about my preference.
Is the Bud better than the Blossom? originally appeared on GardenRant on March 30, 2023.
The post Is the Bud better than the Blossom? appeared first on GardenRant.
