A lesson for the learning

Quite unintentionally we gave our neighbours a problem. Every year we prune one of the ivies growing on a fence in the garden to keep its resemblance to an open fan. However, during the winter I noticed that the ivy was coming over the top of the fence from our neighbour’s side. That was a disaster! Our neighbour is an elderly lady who we would not have wanted to have burdened with an overgrown ivy, which was also lifting her spring-flowering pink clematis which ran the full length of the fence. It took my husband two hours to prune the ivy our side hard back, and untangle the ivy intertwined with the clematis. Should my neighbour want to she can cut through the base of the ivy that’s growing on her side to destroy it.
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The ivy on our side had four bird’s nests in it which sadly disintegrated with all the vigorous cutting and pulling. The ivy will grow back, and the birds will make new nests. This is a pruning process which should be regularly done. Our thoughtlessness gave our neighbour a problem and was on the verge of spoiling her clematis. The neglect of facing our responsibility gave somebody else an unnecessary problem. Whatever we do, or do not do, for ourselves sadly can cause problems for those closest to us. This overgrown ivy taught me how important it is to not neglect the things that trip me up which might spoil or cause someone else to stumble. 

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Merle Sparkes

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