THE flowers on the sycamore tree outside the lounge window of our home are now forming and will produce a nice show soon.

The sycamore isn’t the most popular tree, I have to admit, and ours is a bit of a mass of intertwined trunks, rather than a beautiful shape like the famous Gap Tree which stood at Hadrian’s Wall.

We did think about taking our sycamore out and planting something else but I’m glad we decided against it. The tree is very popular with birds, especially the greenfinches that love the seeds.

Sycamores were introduced into Britain in the 17th-century, from eastern and southern parts of Europe.

The sycamore is a fast-growing tree and is useful for carving. Growing quickly, it proved ideal for replenishing stocks when wood was the primary heat source.

Because sycamore wood doesn’t stain, it is widely used for kitchen utensils, including Welsh love spoons, although that might be a limited market. It is also sought after in the manufacture of violins.

The sycamore outside our lounge window is a home to numerous aphids and these are the source of a sticky goo, the sort that will adhere to your car if you happen to park under one.

Bats seem to love our tree and flit about under it almost every evening, hopefully catching some of those aphids.

The seeds of the sycamore are the classic winged fliers we used to play with as kids.

It’s an ingenious distribution system that’s very effective, as I can testify to – there are numerous saplings all over the garden.

Given that sycamore trees can last for up to 400 years, I suspect we will have many years from our tree – and that it will last long after I’ve shuffled off to the bar in the sky.