Blooms in the City - Magnificent Magnolias at the San Francisco Botanical Garden

The weather was great on the weekend so Mijo, Berna, Judy, Joaquin and I went to the San Francisco Botanical Garden to see the Magnificent Magnolia Garden collection of 54 species and 49 cultivars which is a significant collection for conservation outside of China.

It is always a joy to visit the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. The Garden is big itself and it being inside the Golden Gate Park made the entire area feel like an oasis in the middle of hustle and bustle of the city.

So when we heard about the Magnolia blooms, we didn't waste anytime to visit the Gardens. Here are some of the pictures I took during our visit there.  Enjoy!

 

A free map to a self guided tour of the magnolias. 
The walk is long but very pleasant and you can pace yourself because of the different beautiful sceneries all around.

Here are some pictures of Magnolia campbelli darjeeling. (#1 in the map)
This magnolia offers deep pink flowers and was propagated from a tree at the Lloyd Botanical Garden in Darjeeling, India.

 

   

   

Here are some pictures of Magnolia springeri. (#2 in the map)
This one is tall and a native to China. The flower is rose pink.

   

   

   

   

Magnolia macrophylla. (#4 in the map) did not have any blooms when we were there. However, I noticed its large brown leaves on the ground. I read from the description on the map, it is commonly called Bigleaf Magnolia where the leaves can reach up to 30 inches in length.

   

Here are some pictures of Magnolia sargentiana. (#5 in the map)
This was a present at the signing of the UN Charter which took place at the Cathedral Grove in Muir Woods and presented to the Garden in 1946 by Lord Cranborne of Salisbury. It first bloomed in 1953.

   

Here are some pictures of Magnolia x silangeana. (#7 in the map).
This is also called Rustica Rubra which is a Dutch clone raised at the end of 19th century in Baskoop. The flower has a goblet shape and has reddish purple flower.

   

   

   

Here are some pictures of Magnolia denudata. (#9 in the map). 
This one has white flowers and have a full canopy of flowers. This is called Yulan or Jade Orchid bu the Chinese. The blossoms are pure white in color. This type of magnolia has the longest known history of cultivation among magnolias. This is why its beauty sometimes can be seen on ancient Chinese embroideries, scrolls, and porcelains.

   

   

   

 

Here are some pictures of Magnolia campbelli Strybing White. (#11 in the map) 
It is one of the largest magnolias in the garden. The trunk of this tree is so thick it will probably take 3 people to hug it. This one is so tall, towering over 80 feet, it is hard to take a picture of the entire tree. The special white species was grown from seed purchased from India in 1934, propagated at the Golden Gate Park Nursery and planted in 1940.

 

   

I had to walk a few yards away to get this picture.

   

This one is not on the map but it is next to #11.

   

Here are some pictures of Magnolia doltsopa. (#12 in the map). 
It is commonly called Sweet Michelia and was discovered near Kathmandu, Nepal around 1803.

   

 

It was an immensely enjoyable walk seeing these ethereal beauty. The entire garden is 55 acres and we've only seen parts of it where the magnolias are planted. I made a mental note to go back often to enjoy the other plants from around the world.
SF locals get in for free!
Thank you SF Botanical Garden!

~rl