Helena's Judas Tree

Today was a classic spring day, with clear blue skies, a gentle cooling breeze and many fragrant scents from flowering plants. I spent a long time walking round the ward delivering pamphlets and discovered so many houses hidden from general view and alleyways into pretty back gardens, some manicured, though most were quite wild. My camera was too heavy to carry about, but I might take it with me tomorrow when I finish off the delivering of leaflets.

In the garden, I managed a spot of gardening and transplanted some french beans and a courgette. About time too, as I have been very slack.

When I came home, I heard that I have got an interview for the job, so that is good news. Apparently there were a lot of applicants. Now I have to prepare a presentation for the hour long interview in ten days time.

These leaves are at the top of Helena's favourite tree, which we bought for her a few years ago, but worried that it might have died last year. It is recovering well to my untutored eye, though I think it needs shaping better, so that it can slowly grow into an elegant form over the next twenty years. It is a a Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as a Judas Tree, which is a small deciduous tree from Southern Europe and Western Asia and is noted for its prolific display of deep-pink flowers. I think they will be with us soon. I keep looking closely at its branches, as fore the last couple of years a strange scale-like insect has attacked it, but so far I haven't seen any, although I saw some this afternoon on my walk on a lime tree, in an area suitably named The Lindens.

This picture is pretty much out of the camera.

note:
There is a longstanding myth that Judas Iscariot hanged himself from a tree of this species. This belief is related to the common name 'Judas Tree' which is possibly a corrupted derivation from the French common name, Arbre de Judée meaning tree of Judea, referring to a region where the tree occurs.