Does anyone know anything about gardening?

I'd kill the ivy from the trees, cut the stems. But then you'll have ugly dead ivy in the tree, you'll be able to pull it down in a few years. Ivy is ugly, plenty of it in the world already. It will kill the trees eventually.

That's exactly what the nice tree surgeon said, not a problem unless it's so much ivy that the tree can't get enough light anymore.
And that it makes his job impossible as he can't see anything.

It will kill the trees eventually.

It really won't. It's not a parasitic plant, it has it's own root system and does not damage trees.

why was this not airtagged

Lot of fallen down trees here with ivy on them, was my anecdotal evidence.

Surely you can cut ivy part-way up the trunk, like head-height, and keep it from consuming the canopy while still providing a great bit of evergreen habitat for wildlife?

Yes.

I think this is a big part of where it comes from.

Dead trees with living ivy = ivy kills trees

Whereas you probably don't notice it as much on all the living trees that haven't died.

Careful. They're vicious....

Thanks for the insight all, though the 50/50 split is slightly inconvenient. I think I will wait until autumn and reassess, I will more than likely try to remove some of the bulk and specifically the higher bits from the two bigger trees if I can, I need to take a branch of the tall one too. I may keep the bulk of it on the collapsed fence at the back, the neighbour there has their own fence just behind it anyway.

We have a similar issue, though the tree in question is our neighbours. Huge pear tree but doesn’t fruit - I suspect this is due to the amount of ivy and honeysuckle on it, prob 50% of the visible foliage.

Ivy does a huge trade in bird/bee action during the winter, and it ties in with my plans for a deliberately dingy woodland section of our garden, but I do think the tree wants some attention. Partly because it’s fucking massive.

Biggest tick for Ivy is that it is just about the latest native plant to flower. If you are lucky, aged Ivy should be supporting Red Admirals.
It's great to see 5/6/7 of them too busy sipping nectar to be territorial in early to mid September.

Saw some fuck off big poppies today

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Getting there. Be good when all the stuff in the crushed brick & concrete is established

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What's the plan for the sand pit?

What's the plan for the local cat toilet?

Reminds me, I saw a great park in France recently, kind of light touch changes on a former industrial site, buildings gone (derelict neighbour forming a backdrop) but concrete floors still around. Lots of crushed up concrete. Half the park damp/wet (pond full of singing frogs), half dry and drought resistant.
https://www.agence22degres.fr/portfolio-1-3/fonderie

Was generally very impressed with the quality of public planting in the Eure region.

Site cleared, interventions starting

Now

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This sounds amazing but I can’t quite picture it – what do you mean about the 4-6” lip?
I’ve just watered in a pack of nematodes and done another evening cull after watching three new fennels getting stripped before my eyes. It’s all very well the RHS saying slugs and snails are our friends, but I can’t afford to plant hundreds of perennials in the hope they won’t get through them all.

Finally got the screening trees delivered and planted.

Wonky stakes are due to old roots that are getting in the way. Doesn't look professional but it was hard work.

Thanks for the suggestions on here - ended up all native and wildlife friendly, with hornbeam trees and a hedge that's a mix of hawthorn, field maple, dog rose, wild privet, and something else I can't remember.

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Looks great! Going to grow in really nicely i reckon

Wow they look perfect there.

Thanks guys, I hope they're alright. The soil can get quite wet in heavy rain, and it's probably quite acidic due to the leylandii that were there before, though I've removed about 10 barrows full of chippings, and put in 7 bags of compost or composted bark.

They were really surprisingly heavy and hard to manoeuvre, and the tree ties I've bought are too short so I have to hope there are no strong winds between now and their arrival.

Here's a reminder of the 'before' from last summer:

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You could throw down some sand and grit to improve drainage

looks great also looks like it’s already breaking up the view pretty well and providing screening. will be doubly good once mature