In the world of home decor, magnolia is a best-selling colour that outlasts every new craze because it is so easy to live with, but its biggest fan would not call it exciting. On the inside of the loose, cup shaped flowers held on a magnolia tree, the sheeny colour has all the allure you could […]

Magnolia x soulangeana — Susan Rushton

Photographer Susan Rushton captures beautifully one of my very favorite trees, the Magnolia x soulangeana, sometimes called the “saucer magnolia” or “pink magnolia”. It is highly fragrant, as she notes. My college had an open plaza where one entire side was planted with them, and they had grown to an impressive size. When they were in bloom, you could walk through the plaza (or sit there) and receive gusts of their floral perfume.

We have several that grow in our neighborhood and they are spectacular. I’ve never been able to find a created fragrance that captures what they smell like in real life. But Susan’s photos absolutely capture what they look like. I can’t wait for them to bloom in my neighborhood every spring!