a lifetime love affair with magnolias
I went this afternoon after I got out of work to see if the Magnolias were in bloom in New Castle. New Castle is small town which occupies an island here in NH, it feels a bit like an extension of Portsmouth, both were settled in the 1630s.
In New Castle is one of my favorite spots in New England, the recently renovated Victorian grand hotel, The Wentworth by the Sea. I fell in love with the hotel ten years ago when I saw it for the first time, falling to pieces, property overgrown. The wealthy neighbors wanted it torn down. I was in love with it as it sat. The Marriott family, who happen to live in NH (in the town where I work even!), saved it and renovated it and it now sits as a Marriott Hotel property. They have done a beautiful job and left the grounds in nice shape, simply improving what had grown over in the decades past.
This wonderful Magnolia tree sits across from the entrance of the hotel, on a path that leads to the docks and the ocean. There's a charming old lattice structure that you pass through on the way, the arch over your head used to read, To The Ship and it was overgrown with vines. Now it's gleaming white and plant free, much to my disappointment.
The Magnolia tree itself is amazing...low to the ground, it branches out in a huge radius, some of the branches are held in place with guide wires and straps. I have many photos taken here, of me, of friends...it's just a favorite spot of mine.
I was actually kneeling for this photo. You can't quite grasp the size of this tree until you see it in person, and when it's blooming it's a beautiful thing, all the pinks, the carpet of pink beneath from spent petals, the soft smell of the blossoms. Magnolias have always been my favorite tree, since I was a little girl and we had one in our yard.
That's me on the right, all squinty and homely, with my Aunt Norma. Aunt Norma, FYI, looks exactly the same now, even 27+ years later she has the same hair and make up. (I'm not even exaggerating.) She's the matriarch of my family now and I'm still her favorite niece. : )
I must be just over a year old in that photo, and that tree was in my yard until we moved the summer I turned four. And who says there's nothing pretty in Old Tappan, NY?
Sadly only half the tree was in full bloom today, the more impressive side of the tree is only just starting to open and I will have to return one afternoon next week to really do the tree justice. But I didn't drive over an hour for nothing, and I at least got a shot of me with its last bloom before I move 3100 miles away from my favorite tree in the country. I will have to visit whenever I'm in the area. : )
You can see the photos better if you view the image large.
a lifetime love affair with magnolias
I went this afternoon after I got out of work to see if the Magnolias were in bloom in New Castle. New Castle is small town which occupies an island here in NH, it feels a bit like an extension of Portsmouth, both were settled in the 1630s.
In New Castle is one of my favorite spots in New England, the recently renovated Victorian grand hotel, The Wentworth by the Sea. I fell in love with the hotel ten years ago when I saw it for the first time, falling to pieces, property overgrown. The wealthy neighbors wanted it torn down. I was in love with it as it sat. The Marriott family, who happen to live in NH (in the town where I work even!), saved it and renovated it and it now sits as a Marriott Hotel property. They have done a beautiful job and left the grounds in nice shape, simply improving what had grown over in the decades past.
This wonderful Magnolia tree sits across from the entrance of the hotel, on a path that leads to the docks and the ocean. There's a charming old lattice structure that you pass through on the way, the arch over your head used to read, To The Ship and it was overgrown with vines. Now it's gleaming white and plant free, much to my disappointment.
The Magnolia tree itself is amazing...low to the ground, it branches out in a huge radius, some of the branches are held in place with guide wires and straps. I have many photos taken here, of me, of friends...it's just a favorite spot of mine.
I was actually kneeling for this photo. You can't quite grasp the size of this tree until you see it in person, and when it's blooming it's a beautiful thing, all the pinks, the carpet of pink beneath from spent petals, the soft smell of the blossoms. Magnolias have always been my favorite tree, since I was a little girl and we had one in our yard.
That's me on the right, all squinty and homely, with my Aunt Norma. Aunt Norma, FYI, looks exactly the same now, even 27+ years later she has the same hair and make up. (I'm not even exaggerating.) She's the matriarch of my family now and I'm still her favorite niece. : )
I must be just over a year old in that photo, and that tree was in my yard until we moved the summer I turned four. And who says there's nothing pretty in Old Tappan, NY?
Sadly only half the tree was in full bloom today, the more impressive side of the tree is only just starting to open and I will have to return one afternoon next week to really do the tree justice. But I didn't drive over an hour for nothing, and I at least got a shot of me with its last bloom before I move 3100 miles away from my favorite tree in the country. I will have to visit whenever I'm in the area. : )
You can see the photos better if you view the image large.