German Village is such a splendid place to experience Spring! Open your door, walk onto the brick sidewalks and fill with joy as you meander street by cobblestoned street, enter lovely parks and enjoy a gourmet coffee, chocolate or other tasty delight. A perfect morning, afternoon or evening. - Kyle Haines
Garden of the Month
Jane & Bill Forbes
They’re on display for only seven to 10 days each year. But when German Village’s majestic magnolia trees are in bloom, they are hard to miss.
Take, for example, the towering pink magnolia whose canopy stretches over the Jane and Bill Forbes property on Mohawk Street. There was a time when you could almost set your calendar by the day on which the tree blooms, usually about April 10 or 12. And that’s when the Forbes would often have their neighbors over to toast the magnificent sight with wine.
The magnolia, perhaps 40 or 50 years old, blossomed just as beautifully this year, although about two weeks earlier than normal. But because of the coronavirus, there were no neighbors to help welcome the blooms … just an occasional friend or neighbor who would knock on the Forbes’ back gate and “social distance” themselves for a few minutes while gazing upward.
As one who has been lucky enough to enjoy the blossoming magnolia up close, I can attest to the fact that it’s an awesome sight – even to someone who knows little to nothing about trees or gardening other than to appreciate the sights and smells.
The tree was one of the major selling points when Jane and Bill bought the home six years ago. Theirs is an “upside down” house, with the main living area on the second floor. Jane says touring the home was like visiting a treehouse. During the second week of April, the branches and blooms peek through the skylights, and their balcony and deck are surrounded by the fragrant flowers.
Jane, whose stunning backyard gardens have been featured in magazines and on the German Village Haus und Garten Tour, readily admits an unusual fact – that the tree they celebrate each year doesn’t even belong to them. It sits just a few feet to the south of their lot, in Jim and Kim Cowie’s lawn. But because so much of the canopy extends over onto the Forbes’ property, the two couples gladly “co-parent” the tree.
And then, just as suddenly as they arrive, the blooms fall – by the thousands. There are so many, in fact, that a shovel is required to dispatch them into the waiting lawn and leaf bags. It’s hard work, and a little saddening to see the flowers go, but the resulting leaves create enough summer shade for two homes. And then there’s always “next year.”
No one knows for sure the magnolia’s provenance (perhaps it was planted during the ‘70s when Frank and Elnora Fetch owned the house the Cowies now have) but both couples – and anyone who passes by – hope that with the proper TLC, it will continue to provoke many “Oohs!” and “Ahhs!” for years to come. - John Clark
Jane & Bill Forbes
They’re on display for only seven to 10 days each year. But when German Village’s majestic magnolia trees are in bloom, they are hard to miss.
Take, for example, the towering pink magnolia whose canopy stretches over the Jane and Bill Forbes property on Mohawk Street. There was a time when you could almost set your calendar by the day on which the tree blooms, usually about April 10 or 12. And that’s when the Forbes would often have their neighbors over to toast the magnificent sight with wine.
The magnolia, perhaps 40 or 50 years old, blossomed just as beautifully this year, although about two weeks earlier than normal. But because of the coronavirus, there were no neighbors to help welcome the blooms … just an occasional friend or neighbor who would knock on the Forbes’ back gate and “social distance” themselves for a few minutes while gazing upward.
As one who has been lucky enough to enjoy the blossoming magnolia up close, I can attest to the fact that it’s an awesome sight – even to someone who knows little to nothing about trees or gardening other than to appreciate the sights and smells.
The tree was one of the major selling points when Jane and Bill bought the home six years ago. Theirs is an “upside down” house, with the main living area on the second floor. Jane says touring the home was like visiting a treehouse. During the second week of April, the branches and blooms peek through the skylights, and their balcony and deck are surrounded by the fragrant flowers.
Jane, whose stunning backyard gardens have been featured in magazines and on the German Village Haus und Garten Tour, readily admits an unusual fact – that the tree they celebrate each year doesn’t even belong to them. It sits just a few feet to the south of their lot, in Jim and Kim Cowie’s lawn. But because so much of the canopy extends over onto the Forbes’ property, the two couples gladly “co-parent” the tree.
And then, just as suddenly as they arrive, the blooms fall – by the thousands. There are so many, in fact, that a shovel is required to dispatch them into the waiting lawn and leaf bags. It’s hard work, and a little saddening to see the flowers go, but the resulting leaves create enough summer shade for two homes. And then there’s always “next year.”
No one knows for sure the magnolia’s provenance (perhaps it was planted during the ‘70s when Frank and Elnora Fetch owned the house the Cowies now have) but both couples – and anyone who passes by – hope that with the proper TLC, it will continue to provoke many “Oohs!” and “Ahhs!” for years to come. - John Clark