Happy Easter 2025 & The Magnolia Blossoms Are Outrageous!

Hi Everyone,

After 13 years of writing this blog, you’d think I would know how long it takes to produce a blog post. Right?

Well, I don’t. Or, rather, I do, but my powers of denial and delusion are far superior.

Like 2021, the magnolia blossoms are spectacular this year.

Aren’t they every year, Laurel?

 

No, they are different every year. Some years, they come and go very quickly, but this year, they’ve been slowly coming out all week.

 

What sometimes happens is that it is very cool, which it mostly has been, but then all of a sudden, it gets super warm, like it was today, and if it stays warm like that for a few days, the blossoms bloom and die very quickly, pushed off the branches by the leaves.

 

 

Or, sometimes, there’s a torrential rainstorm, which’ll quickly destroy the delicate magnolia blossoms, too.

 

 

However, this year, we had a mild day several days ago, which was good, but then it got cold, which was even better, and then a fair amount of gentle rain. It allowed the buds to open up more slowly and kept the leaves at bay.

Oh, sorry. I realize that 99% of you already know that. But the difference is that there are 100s of magnolia trees in the Back Bay. The reason is that a woman named Laura Dwight in the 1960s became the first president of the Back Bay Garden Club, and she spearheaded an initiative to line the streets with the bountiful magnolia trees to create the magnificent display you’re seeing.

 

 

Some residents aren’t terribly fond of the trees.

 

 

The reason is that when the millions of blossoms fall to the sidewalk, they make a bloody mess and stain the concrete.

Today, the blooms were at peak, but it was over 80 degrees today, so they’re already dying off.

It was summerlike today, and so Back Bay was mobbed this afternoon. However, I went out for about two hours– in shorts (!) and took dozens of photos.

There are so many beauties, I can’t possibly share them all today, so I plan to share more on Monday.

 

This year, I mostly went over to Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

 

Commonwealth Ave red brick townhouses lined with magnolia trees at peak bloom.

I was on Marlborough for a block or two. The house in the middle is one of my favorites.

 

Like I said, there were a lot of people. So, it wasn’t easy getting shots without people in them. This is definitely Comm Ave. And here, you can see the mess the blooms are already making on the sidewalk, and most of the flowers are still on the trees!

 

 

This fabulous house was featured in the last big spring post four years ago. Coincidentally, my son Cale has a friend who’s the brother of the owner of this home. They bought it maybe around the time I bought mine, and did a huge renovation. You can see more of this home before the renovation in one of my favorite posts.

 

Of course, there are many other blooming trees along with the magnolias. However, this one might be a magnolia of a different variety and a more pale shade.

 

Haha. I walked past this the other evening on Comm Ave and wondered how they did this. And now I see a piece that goes over the branch and is attached to the rest of the fence.

 

It’s been so cold, suddenly everything opened up!

 

I walked over to Storrow Drive, the east/west expressway bordering the Charles River and the Esplanade.

 

 

154 Beacon Street is one of Back Bay’s most beautiful homes with an unusual configuration and a narrow width.

 

Like my building, there are five units. I don’t know how many houses in the Back Bay are single-family homes, but there is a growing trend towards that.

 

This is the location, but not the same house that Isabella Stuart Gardner lived in, in the early days of her marriage. That house was torn down, and this gorgeous Beaux Arts home was built.

 

 

Above and below, the exquisite 109 and 111 Commonwealth Ave.

 

 

 

Millions of magnificent magnolia blossoms!

Please have a blessed Easter Holiday!

xo,

 

***Please check out the recently updated HOT SALES!

There is now an Amazon link on my home page and below. Thank you for the suggestion!

Please note that I have decided not to create a membership site. However, this website is very expensive to run. To provide this content, I rely on you, the kind readers of my blog, to use my affiliate links whenever possible for items you need and want. There is no extra charge to you. The vendor you’re purchasing from pays me a small commission.

To facilitate this, some readers have asked me to put

A link to Amazon.com is on my home page.

Please click the link before items go into your shopping cart. Some people save their purchases in their “save for later folder.” Then, if you remember, please come back and click my Amazon link, and then you’re free to place your orders. While most vendor links have a cookie that lasts a while, Amazon’s cookies only last up to 24 hours.

Thank you so much!

I very much appreciate your help and support!