Love it or hate it, ivy is in the top league for wildlife

RECENTLY every morning round here has started with a white frost, but strong sunshine has melted it all by about 11am and tempted me out to look for signs of growth in the garden and to pass judgement on plants that may or may not have been killed by the harsh winter.

There are some signs of life, though everything is very late. I have an amazing crop of ivy seedlings in flowerbeds, vegetable plots, the herb garden and the containers on the patio. Two dark green leaves and, when they’re pulled up, a long single root penetrating ten or 15 centimetres into the soil.

Ivy is probably the most divisive plant in Ireland. People either love it or hate it. I’m an ivy lover — but it is not an unqualified love, which is why I am pulling up these little seedlings.