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Autumn nectar

Ok - I know there's a bit of a theme here - but hey don't you think bees and other insects that rely on nectar need as much help as they can get?

Ivy is probably one of our best and wrongly maligned native plants. At the end of the year when there's not much nectar about see how much insect interest they attract because they flower so late. They also fruit in late winter too - that means loads of berries for the birds when there's no other fruit about! 

Being evergreen, Ivy is good for providing shelter and home to all those juicy insects that birds such as robin, wren and dunnock love to eat - great in the winter as shelter too for House sparrow! Blackbird and Song thrush love to nest in them in the spring!

Anonymous
  • I reluctantly got rid of a couple of ivy in the spring because they were causing havoc with the neighbour's plants but I've kept one on a difference fence / different neighbour and I am convinced something nested in it this year. I haven't made it up the slope yet to investigate whether they did or whether they just sheltered in it.

  • Thanks for the ivy info, John. Didn't think ivy was important at all, so it just goes to show.Love all the 'ordinary' birds, especially the ones who sing so well in my garden.