When I moved into the house in 1975 there was a rather sickly conifer at the side of the garden. A few years later, when I decided that it had no hope, I stripped off a lot of the thin branches and then planted ivy around the base.

Over the years the ivy has grown into what I now call the 'Ivy Tree'. It is used regularly as a nest site and lists blackbirds, dunnocks and wrens as definite, repeat users.

The flowers attract masses of insects through the summer and the berries are a welcome food supply for birds in the winter.