The cherry plum tree in our front garden has had a chequered history since we moved in eight years ago.

Once we had cut back the years of ivy growth (which had pulled down three substantial brick pillars down the side of the garden)  and removed three x 20ft cypresses and a 15ft holly tree, the tree was revealed in all its dubious glory. With the undergrowth cleared its six distinct stems had the impression of a veritable thicket.

In the middle of a woodland that would not have been a problem but as the sole tree in a domestic front garden it was, not to put to finer point on it, just plain ugly.

A native cherry plum would never have been my choice for the front garden but it was an established tree and after a tree surgeon pared it back to a single trunk did at least look relatively ornamental.

For the past few years, since the drastic culling, it has treated us to a fabulous annual display of white blossom in the very early spring.

With such open branches it was not a suitable tree for nesting birds but the plethora of insects that it supported did attract many small varieties; Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Sparrows, Blackbirds and even a Wren or two,  plus the usual Magpies and Wood Pigeons attracted by the hanging bird table suspended from a lower branch. The tree was also the favoured vantage point for our resident Robin, who would sing heartily from there every morning and evening.

Last weekend Storm Claudia hit the islands, bringing 50+mph wind gusts that caused damage all over the neighbourhood. It brought down many trees, caused damage to fences, roofs and other structures as well as raising flash floods in lower lying areas.

Sad to say our poor cherry fell victim to Claudia’s whim.

We heard the wind but not the tree’s demise from indoors. It was around 10-30 p.m. that Peter looked of the front windows and saw destruction.

The tree had fallen!

By sheer luck the cherry had come down between the garden wall and our brick porch and come to rest across our car! There was nothing we could do between us with the gale still blowing and torrential rain lashing down.

Next morning we went out to assess the damage, fearing a new car was on the cards.

With aid of a local garden services company the tree’s remains were gone by midday and the  full extent of the damage revealed…

Once the trunk and main branches were cut away we were amazed to find the Kia virtually untouched!

The gardener contractors opined that it must have been a slow and graceful fall to cause so little damage – just one depression in the roof that was too small to even dignify with the term ‘dent’.

Once Peter had taken the car down to the car wash to remove the sawdust and debris its hard to see where it is.

What to do with the empty space left by a quite substantial tree?

We had a Red Sentinel malus tree in the rear garden in a large pot that, though still small,  we had already decided was in need of more root space to thrive so a quick hole was dug  and Voila!

It will be a few years before its reaches its predecessor’s stature – but from little pips large crab apples tress grow!