Star magnolia: darling of the garden centre, threatened in the wild

Star magnolias capture the hearts of gardeners each spring, but in the wild they need saving from extinction. Surely we can take pity on this most beautiful of shrubs?

Any day now it will happen; my Magnolia stellata's buds, grey and hairy, are going to burst open. I can't wait, I love my star magnolia. While walking around nurseries and garden centres at this time of year I just can't get away from the rows of it, covered in blooms, tempting me to make another impulse purchase, just as I did five years ago.

I found my little plant in a "reduced to clear" section, looking extremely battered and bruised. I couldn't leave it there. It took a while to recover from its ordeal, but I am pleased to say it seems to be flourishing now. For most of the year it is clothed in insignificant bright green foliage but just now, before that foliage has made an appearance, its performance cannot be beaten. Flowers, so delicate, like multitudes of ballet dancers, and a scent so utterly perfect, if you can catch a hint of it on a warm spring day. I couldn't be without this plant; it's ideal for a small garden the size of mine. It was an impulse purchase that I haven't for one minute regretted.