On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

..... a partridge in a pear tree.

Only, lets face it, they probably didn't. Partridges (either the native grey or the introduced red-legged) are ground birds. Much happier sitting under said tree than *in* it.

But hang on a moment. There is plenty of other wildlife that loves pear trees. In the spring the lovely snowy-white blossoms are a great source of nectar for bees, hoverflies and all sorts of other insects. These can then be eaten in turn by other creatures, building up a whole food web. And in the autumn the windfall fruits can be munched by birds, hedgehogs and again, all sorts of insects and other bugs and beasties.

 Pear blossoms by 'Rillke'

Pears (and their relatives, apples) made a wonderful addition to the garden. Lovely white blossoms with a wonderful scent thickly coat the branches in spring. In the autumn, you can pick and eat the fruit yourself. Assuming you don't leave it for the wildlife. How green is that? Nothing tastes better than something you have grown yourself. It doesn't have to be a large tree, you can get small varieties that will happily grow in a container inside a small courtyard garden. or even on a large balcony! And the really great things about them is that the trees can go on for years and years. So your investment will really pay off. We have our own wildlife garden here at Frampton, full of great plants. No pear trees yet. Maybe I can persuade Jim, the wildlife gardener, to put a couple in...

So help give nature a home, and plant yourself a pear (partridges not included).