The Almond lawn for shade, or form the shelter between garden and road. 



and its These necessary screens are often of dull Privet or mixed shrubs, 



Varieties wnere they might well be of Damson, Bullace, or Mirabelle, 



laden with white blossom in spring, and purple or green fruit in 



autumn. The golden fruit of Shepherds' Bullace hangs even 



till October, and is delicious picked up then from the grass. 



These plums never grow into big trees, and would not need 



the ugly lopping that unfortunate forest trees have to bear 



when planted in such small spaces. 



The fruit of the Almond does not form its great attraction, 

 at any rate in England ; its merit lies in the earliness of its 

 lovely flowers. The pink sprays open before the trees have 

 even burst their buds to clothe themselves in green, and mingle 

 perfectly with the purples and browns of the awakened woods, 

 and the warmer tones of Elms in flower. 



There are many varieties : Amygdalus communis, dulc'is^ 

 amara, and pendula. Macrocarpa and per sic aides have flowers 

 rather bigger than the type, and are very early. All are pale 

 pink, the petals in some flushed to a deep rose at the base, and 

 the deeper colour of the centre intensified still further by the 

 bunch of deep rose stamens. 



Only of recent years has it been realised that Almonds, 

 which, like the whole genus of Prunus, prefer a warm 

 soil and revel in lime, will thrive in spite of London fogs. 

 The smoke-laden atmosphere makes a most becoming back- 

 ground, and probably they are grateful for the shelter afforded 

 them, so that the parks and dingy square gardens are now 

 transformed with the exquisite pink branches. Still more 

 beautiful are they against the dark green of Cypresses, or such 

 a tree as Thuja orientalis, which has in a small way a very 



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