Our pear tree never stops giving. Like all trees it helps us breathe by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen, but this one also props up our listing fence. In spring, its blossom feeds pollinators; in summer it not only casts a dappled shade, but the glossy leaves are scissored away by the local patchwork leaf-cutter bees, to line their nests. I’m growing it espalier-style, and I’m confident a bird will nest there soon, like the blackbird in St Kevin’s outstretched hand.