It’s nearly Easter, and just in time, the Judas Tree, or Cercis siliquastrum, flowers.
It’s difficult to find anything not to love about this tree. I think above those heart-shaped leaves that look lovely all year round (before turning yellow in autumn to complete the sense that this tree feels it needs to work hard for your love after being given such a terrifying name) and those pretty little pods, it’s the fact that the beautiful pea-like flowers grow on the bar itself, rather than on dainty stalks. It makes the branches look furry and pink. And the pink itself is just perfect: deep, rich and strong.
The best displays come after a long warm summer the previous year, which this Judas Tree was certainly blessed with last year.
#wildflowerhour takes place every Sunday between 8-9pm on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Just add #wildflowerhour to your posts about the flowers you've found growing wild in Britain and Ireland in the previous week, and enjoy an hour of beauty and happiness. And if you don't recognise a flower, post it and our wonderful community of experts and amateur botanists will help ID it.
