At best overlooked, at worst feared, ivy has a bad rep – but for all the wrong reasons. This versatile and beautiful plant has myriad benefits, for wildlife, people and planet
Hi Dan. Interesting to read about your love of ivy. I have mixed feelings. When I moved to my house, an elderly couple lived next door and elements of their garden had been allowed to get a bit out of hand. Ivy was one of them. Our gardens are walled (I know, I'm lucky as, like you, I hate wooden fencing) and the ivy was feet thick in parts. It looked wonderful - green all year round and gave the gardens (both mine and theirs) a sense of mystery and romance. But the walls are as old as the houses, which date from the 1800s, and the ivy was gradually weakening the old lime mortar and pushing the walls over in places. Most of it had to go - and when there are handsome brick walls, that isn't an issue: it's lovely to be able to see them and they now have roses and less invasive climbers trained on them in most places. But ivy, as you rightly say, never totally goes away. It is always there, creeping quietly along the ground between other plants, silently scaling anything vertical in its path. The old apple tree at the heart of my garden has ivy inches thick on its trunk: robins and blue-tits are nesting in it this year, but it is gradually engulfing the tree, so, come autumn, it will have to be cut back. I wage a constant battle with the ivy in my garden but, ultimately, I celebrate it for being such a survivor!
Sounds like you’ve very much experienced ivy at its best and its worst. I can only dream of robins and blue tits nesting in our garden (so so so many visiting cats, none of them ours), but of course we’re constantly making value judgments in our gardens and I can see why the old apple tree’s health is worth more to your garden than the irrepressible ivy. And yes, if I had a 200+ year old wall, I too would want to enjoy looking at it! Though ivy - as quickly as it grows - does lend its host a sense of maturity and gravitas. If nothing else, ivy keeps us gardeners on our toes - or should that be on our tiptoes/step ladders?
I think English ivy's a bit too aggressive out in Pennsylvania but I'm all for covering walls and fences! Last year I started planting my bare vertical areas with natives like honeysuckle, climbing rose and Virginia creeper. Hopefully they fill in fast!
I remember you telling me that ivy is seen as a real scourge over in Pennsylvania. Going native seems like a sensible alternative! The Virginia creeper in my garden (and now also in my neighbour's) is out of control. One of the big jobs for this year is going to be to try to tame it!
Oooh yes, buddleia is a really interesting one - the subject of a future earthworm for sure. I think where people are a little scared of ivy, they are more snobby towards buddleia. There’s something about how common it is, and how freely it self seeds along railway verges and the like, that makes people turn their noses up at it. (I often turn my nose up at it too, in order to sniff its delightful fragrance!)
Hi Dan. Interesting to read about your love of ivy. I have mixed feelings. When I moved to my house, an elderly couple lived next door and elements of their garden had been allowed to get a bit out of hand. Ivy was one of them. Our gardens are walled (I know, I'm lucky as, like you, I hate wooden fencing) and the ivy was feet thick in parts. It looked wonderful - green all year round and gave the gardens (both mine and theirs) a sense of mystery and romance. But the walls are as old as the houses, which date from the 1800s, and the ivy was gradually weakening the old lime mortar and pushing the walls over in places. Most of it had to go - and when there are handsome brick walls, that isn't an issue: it's lovely to be able to see them and they now have roses and less invasive climbers trained on them in most places. But ivy, as you rightly say, never totally goes away. It is always there, creeping quietly along the ground between other plants, silently scaling anything vertical in its path. The old apple tree at the heart of my garden has ivy inches thick on its trunk: robins and blue-tits are nesting in it this year, but it is gradually engulfing the tree, so, come autumn, it will have to be cut back. I wage a constant battle with the ivy in my garden but, ultimately, I celebrate it for being such a survivor!
Sounds like you’ve very much experienced ivy at its best and its worst. I can only dream of robins and blue tits nesting in our garden (so so so many visiting cats, none of them ours), but of course we’re constantly making value judgments in our gardens and I can see why the old apple tree’s health is worth more to your garden than the irrepressible ivy. And yes, if I had a 200+ year old wall, I too would want to enjoy looking at it! Though ivy - as quickly as it grows - does lend its host a sense of maturity and gravitas. If nothing else, ivy keeps us gardeners on our toes - or should that be on our tiptoes/step ladders?
I think English ivy's a bit too aggressive out in Pennsylvania but I'm all for covering walls and fences! Last year I started planting my bare vertical areas with natives like honeysuckle, climbing rose and Virginia creeper. Hopefully they fill in fast!
I remember you telling me that ivy is seen as a real scourge over in Pennsylvania. Going native seems like a sensible alternative! The Virginia creeper in my garden (and now also in my neighbour's) is out of control. One of the big jobs for this year is going to be to try to tame it!
Really interesting! I think you feel about ivy the way I feel about buddleia
Oooh yes, buddleia is a really interesting one - the subject of a future earthworm for sure. I think where people are a little scared of ivy, they are more snobby towards buddleia. There’s something about how common it is, and how freely it self seeds along railway verges and the like, that makes people turn their noses up at it. (I often turn my nose up at it too, in order to sniff its delightful fragrance!)