Early Springtime

This last Sunday was a perfect day.  The temperature had risen to about 71 degrees. The sky was a brilliant blue and there was a soft gentle breeze blowing.   It was the kind of day when it is impossible to stay inside for very long.  Everything outdoors is calling for you to be outside.

As I meandered down the hill,  I realized, that as cold as it has been, with so many days of freezing temperatures, that Mother Nature was ignoring all of that and continuing on her mission of slowly waking the trees from their long deep Winter sleep.

I was amazed to see so many Japanese Magnolia trees in our yard blooming so beautifully. 

Many years ago my husband traveled to a Plant Nursery over in Mobile, Alabama to purchase many of the Japanese Magnolia trees we have in our yard today.  He had heard that a particular nursery there carried the hard-to-find white blossomed trees he was wanting to plant.

The trees in the two above photos are located in the side yard of our home and the below white Japanese Magnolia is located down the hill from our house and off to the left side yard.

Continuing on down the hill there are a couple of more white Japanese Magnolia trees,

plus a blooming pink Cherry tree.

The sun was shining brightly as I took this photo.  It probably would have been a nicer photo

 to have waited later in the day to get this photo.

Cherry Blossoms

These beautiful Japanese Magnolia trees have been growing in our yard for just about 30 years.

Many varieties of Japanese Magnolia grow to be 20-30 feet tall .

These beautiful trees were cultivated for centuries in Japan and in China.

These trees were first introduced into our country in 1780.

Japanese Magnolia trees are planted extensively throughout the Southern United States where the winters are relatively mild.  Since this tree blooms in early Spring it is considered one of the first signs of Spring in many areas.

The fact that these trees have such beautiful blossoms and they are also resistant to pests and disease

 make them a very popular tree to plant.

These trees prefer a well-drained and fertile soil and will grow nicely in full sun or partial shade.

All varieties of the Japanese Magnolia trees are very beautiful, 

but I have to say this tree with the dark pink blossoms is my most favorite

I love the beautiful pink color silhouetted against the intensely blue skies 

of this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

  There are several of these beautiful pink Japanese Magnolia trees
as we walk down toward the pond.

Below is a photo of a Pink Perfection Camellia tree which was planted almost 30 years ago in memory of my dear sweet mother.  As you know, Camellias are very slow growing trees.  This tree has grown to be about 14 feet tall.  If you look closely you can see the pink blossoms beginning to bloom on the tree.  It was full of buds, so it should bloom nicely for a couple of weeks.

Pink Perfection planted in memory of my sweet Mom because she loved this variety of Camellias, and also,  because to me,  she was the most wonderful, perfect Mother.'

Isn't the Pink Perfection such a perfect little flower bud!

There is a little bit too much sunlight on the opened Pink Perfection in the below photo, 

but you can see the perfect formation of this beautiful flower.

As I traveled around town today running errands I noticed many other Spring wildflowers beginning to bloom.  Unfortunately, cold with lots of rain has returned to our area for the next several days, not making for very good photo opportunities.

I am so glad you joined me on the walk down the hill to enjoy all of the Japanese Magnolia trees beginning to show their beautiful blossoms, again reminding us of the amazing artistic creativity of the good Lord.

Hopefully you are having a very nice week and possibly seeing a little promise of Springtime too wherever you may be.