Magnolia Grandiflora

Growing up, I would stand by my window and gaze out into the world. My second story bedroom gave a great view of the crumbling, low middle-class neighborhood I lived in. More often than not I would stare at the house directly across the street. A modest, single family home. The porch too small to use, a light green Ford pickup that looked as if it had stopped running 15 years ago, and a magnificent magnolia tree in the front yard. 

If it wasn't raining then you would be able to find my best friend under that tree. She would be sitting in a plastic lawn chair, in the shade, drinking iced tea. Mary. She is now 62 years old and she is one of the best people I have had the chance to meet. 

Summers smelled heavy of that sweet magnolia tree. It was the only thing that penetrated the sticky Florida heat. We kicked around the seed pits in the street until we tripped on the broken asphalt. I counted the blossoms during our piano lessons in her cozy home. She was a big part of my life and that tree was in the background of it all. 

I've been thinking about that tree a lot lately. Summer is here and the Magnolia trees are trying to hold onto their blooms for as long as possible. Soon the heat will become too much and they will wilt into a light brown, decaying version of themselves before falling to the ground. Fall will come and they will just be strong trunks of large waxy green leafs waiting for their lovely friends to blossom again. 

There are many different kinds of magnolia varieties. Some have pink petals. Others, small delicate blossoms. The ones I am talking about are an icon to the American South. The Magnolia Grandiflora. Their large white velvet blossoms symbolize purity. They are beautiful and have even been used to discreetly send messages of love between one another. (life goalz to have someone give me magnolias in this context) 

                        

They are so perfectly gorgeous. Constantly in a cycle of growth and death and it still looks beautiful no matter what stage it is in. I like it for all the same reasons Van Gogh's Sunflowers is one of my favorite painting. (HA, you thought I was going to say Van Gogh's Magnolia.) While I realize this could be said about any living thing, it is a little more pretty to use the Magnolia Grandiflora or Helianthus as a metaphor for life. 

I made a playlist for a friend that was inspired by all these thoughts of Magnolia trees in the summer rain. Have a listen H 2.0 

((DATE IDEA- walking through a magnolia plantation. damn that would be some b e a u t i f u l  shit right there))