Councillor SAM WHEELER says there’s a tangible shift in mood on the left in the city whose mayor has recently become PM — but there’s no room for complacency
A KIND friend gave me a nice present this Christmas. It was a plant for my garden — a beautifully clipped globe shaped topiary-box tree about a foot high and a foot in diameter.
I thanked her profusely but was a tiny bit worried as I had heard about these imported box plants. They are available at remarkably low prices for such labour intensive products being grown in Asia. Sadly some of them have brought a relatively new insect pest to Britain.
This is the box tree caterpillar that weaves a white web over the plant — and inside that web eats the leaves and often kills the plant. The caterpillar was first seen in Britain in 2008 and was being spotted in English gardens by 2011.
Millions of elms were wiped out by Dutch elm disease in the 20th century, transforming the landscape forever – yet pockets of hope are keeping this beloved tree alive. MARK SEDDON explains
Rising temperatures and human activity are making life far harder for these vital pollinators. ALEX DITTRICH explains
JAN WOOLF relishes an extensive history of our long relationship to trees in Britain that underlines the current emergency
In his fortnightly column MARK SEDDON reflects on the death of Major Oak and why such ancient trees matter to us



