![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpUaD-phcUITcVZU5VJWrVVjW5oWan3sfCc0BMl0uPlyVA0sna7PdmlFIcvPo25aqgSis_AUr8DJ1c2xf9z_kvjSEIQj8UHr3ojxoNx8QUqGv4rKT6ok-GC3WJTKSel9_x2U9p-mfDu4/s200/magnoliaflower2_web.jpg)
I grew up climbing Magnolia trees, especially those at Duke Gardens, when we still lived in Durham. The trees were so tall, and the branches perfect for climbing . . . you could go until it was just you and the sky. . . I know there is a picture of me, somewhere in the files, playing far up in one of those glorious trees, circa 1981. I went back with Mom and Dad in 2006, and sat in the branches of one of them, and the nostalgia was pretty heavy.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TZo9xt9QejDjm75JgKM-XePlM-D6ySYb0mWGImirwMsv6BjInTx9PU7sEu3VKJjNrdmydgJQlyDlt_zsv8gMtw8NGOu5AOM70SnCNZzhYFmxtttr8pwVHEDcIXVn8MkhjGfRNosCVE0/s200/magnoliapod.jpg)
We planted a Magnolia tree in our yard in Shelby, around 1990. Now it is over forty feet tall and produces perhaps hundreds of giant fragrant flowers a year. Here's a watercolor I did of one of the pods, with one last bright red seed hanging on.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6wDds8WzXW3iQIdaCo5qXQ3GECOdhg4Gg1hZylK7dnPrYo-dmjKm9WskOsCA4kEeutblfbDlVsv522DyK7drwpwqSIWlsxae5ZBkeJzvQ2MuJ1j7GulGZnJibCnaptlRfynHrMGHe5lU/s200/magnolia_watercolor_web.jpg)
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