In May the deciduous trees are  bounding into life. Gone are the bare branches to be replaced by leaves of all shapes and sizes and in all shades of green. As the leaves unfurl and grow the greens deepen in colour and the trees start to shade the plants below them. Most of the lower branches are quite high of the ground allowing a wide variety of plants to grow beneath them, which in turn provide food for insects. These insects come along at just the right time for hungry baby birds. 

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​In mid to late May the trees burst into flower: the mighty horse chestnuts with their cones of fluffy pinky-white flowers and the flat white clusters of the rowans. Many tree flowers are an inconspicuous green. The difference reflects their method of pollination…..flowers to attract insects whilst wind pollinated flowers don’t need to be coloured just feathery to disperse or capture tiny pollen grains. These grains can cause hay fever misery for many.

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At the same time new growth on the evergreens such as holly and conifers make them appear bright and fresh. The evergreens flower as well, with wind pollinated male and female cones on the conifers. The tiny clusters of white flowers on holly are well worth looking out for. Holly has either male or female flowers and so a male and a female bush have to be present for insects to carry out pollination. The pollinated flowers will ripen over the summer into autumn fruit.