I find it hard to believe that we are already in November. The saying is, “Time flies”, and a good friend always adds – “But remember you are the pilot!”

When you think of plants that flower at this time of year, not many people will realise that common ivy is amongst them. Flowering from September through to the end of November, the blooms are also highly scented and visited en mass by many pollinators. More than 140 species of insect and 17 species of bird feed on ivy in Britain, and countless others appreciate its evergreen shelter.

On a sunny day, you may even see a Red Admiral making the most of the late food source, although most of the diners will be bees – especially the aptly named ‘ivy bee’ which was first recorded in the UK in 2001. As the name suggests, it feeds mainly on the nectar of ivy flowers and can be seen in now when the plant is in bloom. On a warm autumn day you will probably notice a drift of ivy flowers by the buzz, as it is so popular.

Once the flowers have finished blooming, ivy produces black berries that become a vital food source for birds in the spring. It may not be the most popular plant of the gardener, but it certainly is with wildlife.

So if you are tidying up outside and ‘putting your garden to bed for winter’, then bear in mind that ‘overgrown’ ivy – that still has it’s flowers - on walls and fences will still be providing essential food for wildlife for a while.

There is lots of pruning and cutting back happening in gardens now – even though I always keep areas of appropriate habitat for wildlife to overwinter. As secateurs will be even busier than usual, I have just ordered new springs for my and my brother’s secateurs. We both now use the fantastic Okasune and the funny thing is that I bought his for him for Christmas about 40 years after my dad bought me my first pair of Felco’s as a Christmas present. Felco’s used to be the Rolls Royce of secateurs and I still remember the pride I felt in having my very own first pair. But since I discovered the Okasune ones a few years ago, I would never use anything else. The Okasune secateurs are Japanese-made and are just wonderfully sharp and light. They also make the most satisfying and hard-to-describe ‘clunk’ every time you use them. And their red and white handles have meant that I have been able to rescue mine from an accidental throw onto the compost heap more than once.

As has obviously become a bit of a tradition in our family, good secateurs make a great present for the keen gardener and I would even go as far as to say that ‘bad’ secateurs are more than likely to prevent any gardener from becoming a ‘keen’ one. I use the Okasune 101s which are the smallest and I bought the 103s for my brother.

Okasune also offer snips, and shears made from the same quality steel and holsters to keep them all in. I’m sure that I have shared that one of my client’s bought her husband the secateurs on my recommendation but decided he didn’t need the holster for them. Consequently, he had them in the back pocket of his jeans when jumping into the driver’s seat of his recently refurbished MGBT – and they ripped the leather seat. That was much more expensive than a holster.

Based nice and locally-ish in Hereford you can see their products at www.okatsune.co.uk or call 01981 590 224