When we first moved to Ottawa from Toronto 32 years ago now, you could not really even think about growing a magnolia here. Except for one person (whose name, I am sorry to say, I cannot remember) down at the southern end of Bank street. The garden clubs were constantly clambering to have him speak about the collection he had amassed, and a trip to see it was a rare treat. I believe I only went once, and all I really remember is that he had a lot of plastic in various forms to cover the trees.
But now we seem to have changed zones and hardier magnolias are to be had, so it is not unusual to see very large trees festooned with pink, white, and even yellow flowers at this time of the year. It is worth going out for a little bike ride, walk, or even a drive (if we are allowed to do that) to see some of them.
One stunning one is at the Norwegian embassy residence, on the south side of the house (see above). The residence is the beautiful stone home sittting on the hill at the intersection of Lisgar and Princess. It is going to be glorious for the next few days. Worth looking for. I believe it is a Magnolia soulangiana and is a pale pink.
Behind the houses at the top of Dufferin Road at Rideau Terrace on the east side, there is a large yellow magnolia, name unknown. Hard to see it, but worth looking for. (Just drove by and it is in bloom!!! ). In the same yard there is a glorious pink stellata, I’m not sure you can see it from the street, but try looking between the houses, as it is fantastic!
Another place to see magnolias is at the Central Expérimental Farm in the Arboretum, although the parking lots are closed to the public cause of the pandemic, so we might miss seeing them this year. I am attaching a link to the listing of magnolias there, put together by the Friends of the Farm. The list is very helpful, with named types which do well here.
https://friendsofthefarm.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/magnolialistcef.pdf
In the Southern United States, the most common of the magnolias is Magnolia grandiflora or Southern Magnolia - it has large shiny leaves which have a brown pubescence on the underside, and this is the type we use in our winter decorations. It is not hardy in our climate so you'll have to keep buying them fresh each year.
Photo Credit: Andre Audette
Photo credit: Andre Audette