It’s a beautiful day in the Judith D. Zuk Magnolia Plaza at BBG! Many of the trees are in bloom creating a space that smells as good as it looks. The plaza started with only 8 trees that were first planted in 1933. Over time our collection has grown to 72 trees covering 17 varieties. Visitors in late March can see beautiful splashes to color, from ivory to yellow to pink to purple. While the plaza begins blooming in mid-March with the opening of the Star magnolias (M. stellata), many more trees bloom later in the season including Sweet-bay Magnolia (M. virginiana) which won’t open its buds until June so that the plaza is filled with flowers for all of spring and right on in to summer.