Ivy!!!!

[DeborahJane]

How's this for using ivy to beautify? Saw it in Samos, Greece September 2014. I'm sure it's still growing.

 

[JHB]

I work for the telephone company. Things like that can damage poles and the guy wires holding them up.

And I hate ivy anyway. It is so hard to kill and get rid of.

 

[DeborahJane]

I agree entirely! When we first moved into this house, a mere 30 odd years ago, ivy had been planted on the brick walls of the house. It grew in under the eaves and started into the house. Shocking stuff to get rid of. I'm still pulling it out in the same spots. It's still in the garden and growing up trees so I'm on constant guard. It amazes me its is for sale. I have seen it in contained gardens and looks quite lovely but scary stuff.

 

[grouie]

Ivy has the tendency to spread and it did in my garden too. But I liked the effect atleast when it did this:

 

[Trellum]

I love ivy! But I wonder if the person who planted that didn't get in trouble when the ivy reached the other cables, hehehe! It'd look beautiful, but I'm sure it'd end up weighing down the cables. Sill very beautiful. I actually want to grow ivy in my own yard, I want to cover the fences, at least get some privacy this way.

 

[claudine]

I love ivy too! If I could, I'd plant it everywhere around me and I'd let it climb trees and houses. Ivy always looks so romantic, mysterious and pretty! It's a wonderful plant.

 

[Becky]

My first thoughts were "wow, I bet that's heavy!"

I do have a soft spot for ivy though, despite how damaging it can be.

 

[IcyBC]

At first, I thought that it looks cool, but when I look at the top, I am thinking it can be dangerous once it goes into the electricity. It is one of the kind look

@grouie photo was extraordinary! How beautiful!

 

[LilAnn]

My ex mother in laws house has the entire north side of it covered in ivy. She has cut it down several times, but it always comes back. It's so pretty!! She knows its going to do a bit of damage, otherwise she would keep it up. I think she's actually wanting to take It down and put some rose bushes over there.

 

[Sheal]

Ivy is a pest, it strangles every plant it comes into contact with and I wouldn't buy a house with it in the garden!

 

[DeborahJane]

Ivy has the tendency to spread and it did in my garden too. But I liked the effect atleast when it did this:

View attachment 6459

That really does look lovely, the green against the red is dramatic. I think if ivy is contained it is effective.

 

[DeborahJane]

I love ivy! But I wonder if the person who planted that didn't get in trouble when the ivy reached the other cables, hehehe! It'd look beautiful, but I'm sure it'd end up weighing down the cables. Sill very beautiful. I actually want to grow ivy in my own yard, I want to cover the fences, at least get some privacy this way.

I have seen ivy grown over a fence, called a living fence, and it looks good. I just think we have to be on guard with it as it can be a problem.

 

[Jewell]

I have ivy and love it for the privacy it provides trained as hedges from 3 ft. to 8 ft tall, not more than a foot wide at its most grown out state. A hard clipping back to the wire fencing once a year provides great mulch for the garden. Planted it 30 plus years ago when it was not labeled invasive. It has been easy to remove when garden plans change, just takes a little effort and good digging and pruning tools. Am in the process of removing a 12 foot cross fence. Maybe because it is prune back so hard once a year keeps it manageable. Here is a photo looking out the front door at the front yard earlier this spring.

 

[DeborahJane]

Hi Jewell. Your ivy fence looks great and what a lovely view from your front door.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

I work for a customer who had a lot of ivy among her flower garden on the driveway side. She asked to have more perennials planted. I dug and cut and pulled so much ivy she had numerous bags of it.

 

[Marck]

The vine clinging to the red urn is Climbing Fig (Ficus pumila), not English Ivy (Hedera helix) or any other kind.

I do have a grudging respect for English Ivy. It is an amazing plant, though it can be terribly invasive. I don't grow it in my garden, but I don't have to, since it comes visiting through the fence from next door. When it flowers it is very popular with the European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera). I do grow Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), Virginia Creeper (P. quinquefolia) as well as Climbing Fig, all of which are also wonderfully robust clinging vines. As a general rule, I'm overly fond of vines.

Ivy has the tendency to spread and it did in my garden too. But I liked the effect atleast when it did this:

View attachment 6459

 

[Neno Baylov]

Very invasive species Hedera helix, photos from Bulgaria.

 

[Marck]

It is interesting that Hedera helix is considered invasive in Bulgaria, which is usually considered part of its native range. However I understand that there are numerous wild strains and subspecies, some of which may be more invasive than others and thereby outcompete more localized forms. For example Irish Ivy (Hedera helix spp. hibernica, or just H. hibernica) is considered to be an exceptionally invasive form along the Pacific coast of North America.

 

[Neno Baylov]

That's right, but it suffocates the rest of the vegetation around.

 

[Neno Baylov]

It is a good pasture for bees, food. When it blooms, in autumn it has a unique aroma.