Munificent Magnolias

almost daily when I was in college, just outside the building where many of my classes at Ohio Wesleyan University were held. My favorite time of year was when its large, cream-colored flowers filled the air with their lemon-rose scent and seemed to light up the lawn with an ethereal glow. That particular magnolia was a sweet-bay magnolia (). Its leathery leaves were glossy-green on one side and silver on the other. In a landscape of native trees, I dismissed it as an obvious transplant because of its tropical appearance. I’d attributed its ability to live in a temperate climate to extra care by a dedicated grounds crew and weather protection from large campus buildings. It never occurred to me to get to know the magnolia any better, because I couldn’t plant it in my