During a woodland walk, in a flash, I saw standing before me Adam and Eve – shortly before they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. The serpent was there, as was the Tree of Good and Evil, the Tree of Calvary and the Tree of Life. The ivy, like evil, entwined the couple as they in turn clung to the tree.
The relationship of English Ivy (Hedera helix) to our trees has similarities to the behaviour of evil toward human beings. Its habit is to attach itself to anything that stands, with the help of suction-like roots called ‘hold fasts’. Although it does not kill the tree, it competes for nutrients, water and sunlight, and so may weaken the tree making it more prone to disease and branch dieback.