What Magnolias Mean to Chip and Joanna Gaines

From Country Living

Chip and Joanna Gaines have one of the best love stories around, but there's one particular part of their tale that they haven't shared until just now.

In a sneak peek of the Fixer Upper series finale shared by People.com, Chip reveals to his kids why magnolia trees are so meaningful to him and Joanna, and why they named their company after the plant-and it all has to do with their first date.

“You know what’s interesting about a magnolia tree?” he asks his kids right after they plant one together. "One of mama and I’s first dates I climbed up a magnolia tree and I pulled her off a magnolia bloom and I gave it to her.”

The flowering tree has not only become a beautiful reminder of that moment, but also a symbol of everything they've accomplished together. Since they first opened Joanna's original Magnolia Market store, the two have turned the tree into an icon associated with their brand.

"We love magnolia trees," Chip said. "It really embodies our company. It’s basically become our mascot." The Gaineses love them so much, in fact, that they've established a tradition of planting magnolia trees at every property they work on, including their very own farmhouse. "Every project we do, we love to plant a magnolia gem,” Chip said.

And now, 15 years after they launched Joanna's first Magnolia Market store, the tree has taken on a new meaning to the couple, all thanks to Fixer Upper.

"Have you ever looked at the bud of a magnolia flower?" Joanna wrote in her book The Magnolia Story. "It's a tight little pod that stays closed up for a long time on the end of its branch until one day, out of nowhere, it finally bursts open into this gigantic, gorgeous, fragrant flower that's ten times bigger than the bud itself. It's impossible to imagine that such a big beautiful thing could pop out of that tiny little bud. But it does. And that's sort of what getting 'discovered' and sharing our lives on Fixer Upper feels like to us."

"I have to wonder, if it was just a happy coincidence that we decided to name that shop Magnolia," she added. "Or was it something more? Because it's staggering to think just how much it has blossomed."

Their Magnolia brand has blossomed so much, it's now an empire that includes a retail establishment, a real estate firm, several books, a line at Target, a magazine, two bed-and-breakfasts, and most recently a restaurant. And with their fifth child, another show, a cookbook, a Chip's new store on the way, there's still more growing to come.

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