Why my Magnolia never flowers.

I grow a lovely dark-flowered form of Magnolia x soulangeana. It might not be this exact form, but it is close in colour and form to "Mag x soulangeana var. "Lennei".

Trouble is, I selected this plant, and grew it on for a while, in Canberra. But in Canberra I did not have Satin Bowerbirds in my yard.

Now I live amongst an active flock of these birds, and they love my Magnolia flowers. They eat them at the tight bud stage, long before the flowers ever get to open fully.

This afternoon, in howling winds, the cunning Bowerbirds sat amongst the dense foliage of the Camellias (to get protection from the winds), but they can reach out and pick at the buds of the Magnolias in the next bush. I even saw one of the "green birds" feeding a choice tidbit to another "green bird".

Bowerbird hiding in Camellia
Bronze colours on wing visible
above spotted abdomen.

 

Gorgeous deep pink Magnolia flower bud
(one of the few buds not yet eaten)
Photo taken through Study window,
looking through another deciduous tree.

On another subject, it is my self-appointed duty as chronicler of weather and other natural phenomena of Robertson, to record that the "August Winds" have arrived in August this year. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather alert, and fire fighters are attempting to control a bushfire on Bulli Tops, near Maddens Plains, south from Helensburgh (on the exposed top of the Woronora Plateau).

The strong winds are the main problem facing the Firies and the SES. Lets wish them the best in bringing this fire under control.