noun

• 1A tree or shrub with large, typically creamy-pink or -white, waxy flowers.

  Genus Magnolia, family Magnoliaceae

  ‘The crocuses and daffodils have come and gone, the magnolias and cherry trees are in bloom.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘There's a natural coherence and spacing about the twisted elder trees, the large magnolias currently flowering in a pale pink, and the squirrels darting, students and ducks ambling among them.’
  • ‘Lightly prune young magnolias after they flower to encourage a pyramidal shape.’
  • ‘He lives in Pensacola, Florida, where magnolias and live oaks are evergreens.’
  • ‘I'd hiked in the Adirondaks, stood on Pacific beaches, spent hours under the Southern snow of magnolias and dogwoods.’
  • ‘The east garden, off the entry court, was devoted to magnolias and other ornamental trees and shrubs, including a rare specimen, Davidia involucrata, first introduced from China in 1904.’
  • ‘The River Oaks Country Club in Houston sits like a plantation mansion amid a vast expanse of magnolias, dogwood, azaleas, and golf greens.’
  • ‘The pre-Victorian Italianate mansions wear the scent of magnolias, azaleas and camellia bushes.’
  • ‘Members then went on to Caerhays Castle, a springtime paradise with enormous tree magnolias above carpets of spring flowers.’
  • ‘Big-leaf magnolias, reminiscent of banana trees but much larger, grow profusely across every tangled terrace.’
  • ‘In the central garden, red cardinal birds fly among the maturing magnolias, silver birches and catsura trees that Noguchi planted to shade his abstract stone sculptures.’
  • ‘Breeding successes like camellias with better cold tolerance, American elms resistant to Dutch elm disease, and later flowering magnolias have given landscapers and gardeners important new choices.’
  • ‘I was so happy that I skipped all the way down 5th Avenue, admiring the dying light and the magnolias bursting into flower and the cherry blossom that seems to have come from nowhere in the last week.’
  • ‘Over 160 years in the making, Trebah now contains glades of subtropical ferns, towering bamboo and magnificent specimen trees, as well as rhododendrons and magnolias in spring.’
  • ‘As much as I love the various flowering cherry trees that are a feature of a Christchurch spring, I like especially the magnolias, the mature trees in particular.’
  • ‘Huge dark chinars and smaller magnolias, with their large, fragrant loose-petalled flowers, stand alongside the paths.’
  • ‘If the word magnolia conjures only visions of the famous evergreen varieties of the Deep South, consider the myriad shapes and colors found among the stunning deciduous magnolias.’
  • ‘At Cashel House Hotel the cherry blossoms are in bloom and the magnolias and camellias are all out.’
  • ‘The most popular of the magnolias in South Africa, the saucer magnolia is a hybrid between two Asian species which are known by the provinces from which they come, as the Yulan and Mulan magnolias.’
  • ‘In the center of campus, wedged between the six outer buildings, was the Mason Courtyard, a large stone courtyard, filled with groves of magnolias and palmettos.’

  1. 1.1mass noun A pale creamy-white colour like that of magnolia blossom.
     as modifier ‘the woodwork is in magnolia gloss’
     More example sentences

     • ‘The fat on a free-range organic chicken should be magnolia in colour and the body should be plump.’
     • ‘You have invested in four terraced houses in Stratford East, east London, and refurbished them simply, with magnolia paint and beige carpets everywhere, and treated them all to new kitchens and bathrooms.’
     • ‘Even though it is much finished I would like to change the colour scheme from the nice and neutral magnolia heaven it is now to something a bit more vibrant.’
     • ‘They talk about magnolia walls with contemporary pieces of work on it.’
     • ‘Sanders of Oxford on the High Street is the place for something to liven up those magnolia walls.’
     • ‘But, right now, I was probably just preoccupied with the colours for my kitchen (should I go for magnolia or rose white?).’
     • ‘So the ‘cottage’ cinema - it seats only about 270 - had new decorative lights, a freshly painted frontage in magnolia and maroon and even the ladies' loo had been updated from one cubicle to three.’
     • ‘You do not want to spend your vacation in a condo with a blue carpet, magnolia walls, Formica countertops, shiny brass bathroom fittings and garishly-coloured sofas.’
     • ‘Trimmed in magnolia hide, it is a superb example of this rare and desirable model and carries an estimate of ￡28,000 - ￡32,000.’
     • ‘In the 1990s, magnolia became associated with cheap rented accommodation and gave way to designer neutrals, palettes of taupe, beige and cream.’
     • ‘We swore we wouldn't have one Army trestle table in the place or one drop of magnolia on the walls.’
     • ‘Currently the bedroom walls are magnolia above the dado rail, and papered beneath, with a subtle striped magnolia patterned wallpaper.’
     • ‘From a paved courtyard, the red front door leads into a brick porch and the living room, freshly painted in magnolia, with new laminate flooring.’
     • ‘When we moved in it was floor-to-ceiling magnolia, but we repainted it white.’
     • ‘The walls are magnolia and the doors painted green, the atrium light and airy.’
     • ‘Likened to an upturned table, its four tall magnolia chimneys stretching 28 metres into the sky, Battersea Power Station has been one of London's best-loved landmarks since the 1930s.’
     • ‘The final two books should find a captive audience in anyone whose idea of design hell involves magnolia walls and clutter-free surfaces, and in those who crave a return to decorative decadence.’
     • ‘Acoustic commentary boxes erected on site to house the radio commentators will be painted magnolia as directed by the Palace.’
     • ‘The magnolia walls had transformed themselves to off-yellow, and the ceiling was a patchy white.’
     • ‘They had decorated it in the simple style that Beth so loved, with varnished pine floors and magnolia walls.’