Magnolias and Oswald Blumhardt

Though early spring is the time to see magnolias in flower, in my own garden and at Roland's Wood, some magnolias have surprisingly put on a second flush of flowers.

The magnolias at Roland's Wood are some of the earliest cultivars developed by Ozzie Blumhardt, a  renowned Northland plant breeder, specialising in magnolias and camellias.  Roland visited his nursery at Pakaraka and purchased newly developed cultivars for the Wood, including the now world famous Magnolia Star Wars - Roland was one of Ozzie's earliest clients.

See more information about Ozzie Blumhardt in this well-reviewed book :

Oswald Blumhardt  New Zealand Plant Pioneer
by Catherine Ballard, published by David Ling, distributed by David Bateman
NZ$40.00

Here is a full and useful review by Murray Dawson from the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture New Zealand Garden Journal, 10(1), 2007, Page 26


and click here for a link on Flickr of some intricate close up images of  a Star Wars magnolia flower by Kam Hong Leung as part of a photo competition at Kew Gardens.