IT IS SAID that either Thomas Jefferson or George Washington gave the redbud tree its name. All I can say is whoever did it must have been colorblind.

Years ago, before I really tuned into the redbud tree, I thought it was a tree with actual red buds. Finding none, I sometimes wondered if redbuds were just another name for the red maple with its reddish spring flowers.

Then I learned about redbuds, and I'll never be confused about the tree again. No one who's seen one can forget the beautiful, lavender-purple flowers up and down its stems in spring. Redbuds stand out in the landscape this time of year like nothing else, but the flowers are nowhere near red. The closest to red the blooms come is that some trees may appear a little pink.

Today, especially, redbuds are right at the top of my dial because I just returned from a trip to Charlottesville. All along the way, clumps of redbuds were blooming on the roadside. Each tree, against the early pale green of trees just beginning to leaf out, was like an early spring gift.

The only other native tree that was visible on the road was an occasional little white shadbush. It blooms early, too, it is said, when the shad begin to run up Virginia's rivers to spawn. Both trees are a little ahead of the dogwoods that are just beginning to brighten the forest under story.

Dogwoods have been a popular yard tree for years. More recently, redbuds also have become part of the garden landscape. Redbuds are good for smaller yards because they are shrublike and even the oldest of them grow no more than 30 feet tall.

Plant redbuds in well-drained soil with some sun. (In the wild, you see them growing along the edge of the woods.) They are easy to grow, readily available at nurseries and are not particularly prone to disease or insects.

Small birds, deer and squirrels will dine on the redbud's seeds, but the wildlife that really loves them are bees. On warm days this time of year, bumblebees and other bees feed voraciously on the blooms' nectar, probably because not much else is around to dine on.

Through no work on my part, a stand of redbud trees is in the yard of a little cottage I have in Charlottesville, which was a thrill for me to discover.

Recently, their purple flowers were just beginning to pop out. Before too long, pretty, green, heart-shaped leaves will be unfolding. In fall the leaves turn a true yellow, making the redbud a tree for three seasons.

The Latin name for redbud is Cercis canadensis, reflecting its wide range in the eastern United States that begins in Canada and stretches to Texas. Yet another name for the redbud is the Judas tree. Legend says that Judas Iscariot hung himself on a redbud after he betrayed Jesus.

No matter what names are given the redbud, they just don't do justice to this pretty, lavender-purple tree that makes us celebrate spring with every sighting.

Mary Reid Barrow, barrow1@cox.net [1]