Maggie May, oh my darling Maggie May. You´ll not find a flower finer than my darling Maggie May. Do you think you have heard those words before? Sung in the soft, gravelly voice of Rod Stewart or a faster paced song by the Beatles? Not quite, but close.

Those artists were singing about Maggie May, a questionable English lass (in the 1800s, she was a questionable Aussie lass) and I am talking about a fine and definitely classy Oregon Magnolia bud. This bud will turn into a waxy, exquisitely colorful flower in May—now doesn´t that make sense? My darling Maggie May.

Every spring, I wander around this pungent, colorful garden, spending hour upon hour walking, looking, shooting, walking, looking, shooting. Sometimes it is foggy, sometimes a typical Oregon mist is falling, sometimes the sun comes out, which isn´t really what I want.

This garden is never a disappointment to me. Each year I find more and more specimens to shoot. I never knew there were as many different types of magnolia blooms as there are. This garden barely touches the realm of them, but it touches more than enough for me. If you are a flower lover, it is Green Gables Gardens and Farm, Philomath, Oregon.