Biodiversity Garden: Trees 

The biodiversity garden is an example of how even a small corner of a town or village can be converted into a wild space. Surrounding the garden is a mix of native trees: hawthorn, with its small five pointed leaves and long thorns; holly, spiny, waxy leaves and red berries; ash, grey diamond patterned bark compound leaves with 7 to 13 pointed leaflets; and elder, a low tree with gnarled bark, whose flowers and berries are sought by humans and badgers respectively. Ivy, which wraps around several of these trees, is often seen as somewhat of a weed but in fact is just another part of a complex ecosystem. It’s flowers are visited by bees (you may have heard of ivy honey) and its berries are an important late source of food for birds in the autumn.