Borderline - Joni Mitchell

If ever there were a borderline case for garden survival it is the ancient lilac bush in the cottage garden. Every year, knowing the state of its gnarled, rotting, fragile trunk, we steel ourselves for its demise. One breath of wind, we think, and it will snap into shards.

But this tree is a survivor. Near the base of its twisted trunk, a strong new shoot is growing and if only it does not suffer wind damage at ground level, we may see it for many years to come. An icon, really.