Magnolia in bloom

The annual Magnolia in bloom is at its peak in the grounds of St Mary’s Bletchley.  The  2021 display is wonderful and has moved from a bundle of buds to a full display of flowers in only a couple of days due to warm weather.

The Magnolia tree is positioned next to the church and is often used by children as a climbing frame on their way in and out of the church.  With Covid putting a stop to congregational worship this has not happened this year and we have the tree standing on its own to show the community that spring has arrived, coincidentally with Easter and the promise of renewal that this time of year brings.

The photographs below were taken over four days, from tight buds to full flowering of hundreds of individual flower heads. The display was past its best by day five, and the ground will be covered with soft petals only too quickly.   The camera used was Lumix S1R with 14-24mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mmm lenses.

Why take photographs of this beautiful tree?

• It flowers for a limited time. This encourages me to appreciate what I have and to have confidence in the future.
• Magnolia blooms early in Spring and is a wonderful indicator of hope and better things to come.
• The quantity of buds that develop into flowers is bountiful and abundant.  This is a measure of God’s love for me.
• Capturing the beauty of a Magnolia in full bloom as a photograph is incredibly challenging. By attempting to capture this miracle of creation is an act of worship in-itself because I know perfection exists and I need to keep trying to make that manifest.
• The scene is ever-changing, just like life and is worth capturing.