IVY

Another climber, this one evergreen and self-supporting, and so even better than honeysuckle for screening unattractive fences and buildings.

Ivy produces its pale yellow flowers in winter, food for the few winter-flying insects, and its berries ripen in spring when they are an important food for blackbirds and thrushes. A good wildlife plant, it may need to be controlled in woodland.

Ivy is not a parasite and will not directly kill a tree, but its sheer weight may make a tree more liable to wind blow.

Ivy grows easily from berries and small rooted branches may also be transplanted.