MY GARDEN 



by anxious Mother Nature as an afterthought. The 

 tree has an interesting irregularity of contour, and is 

 quite Japanese in character against its background of 

 gray stone. The leaves are large and heartshaped, and 

 the tree is a fairly rapid grower, blooming when quite 

 young. There is a variety called Siliquastrum which 

 attains a height of about ten feet, and is more bushy in 

 growth. The flowers are somewhat larger than those of 

 canadensis and it is perhaps a better tree altogether. 

 Pinky-mauve Darwin Tulips nicely repeat the colour of 

 the Judas tree, along its border, relieved by bushes of 

 Hardy Candytuft. John Gerarde described the colour 

 of the Judas flowers as a "purple colour mixed with 

 red," and further says of the tree that "it is thought to 

 be that on which Judas did hang himself and not upon 

 the Elder Tree as it is vulgarly said." This explains its 

 strange name. 



The two splendid Magnolias, M. conspicua and M. 

 Soulangeana, flower by mid- April. The first, which is 

 known as the Yulan Magnolia, has been cultivated in 

 China for a thousand years, and is considered the sym- 

 bol of candour and beauty. Its great thick-skinned 

 white flowers exhale a rare fragrance, and the tree in 

 time reaches a great height. Soulangeana bears pale 

 flowers stained with deeper colour, and is the more often 

 seen. Once established Magnolias are as hardy as iron, 

 but they are somewhat difficult to transplant. March 

 is said to be the best time to set them out, and it is well 



