Ivy, or not

Ivy is one of the most essential plants for our wildlife.And tbh unless it's gone bonkers over a huge area is easy to pull out.I keep some growing through my hawthorn hedge deliberately in places,and pull out some occasionally if it's spreading too far.We had a weeks nest in it this year.

I do like ivy but it can become a maintenance nightmare and I’ve reluctantly had to take most of ours out and even then bits keep popping up all the area the big plants were originally in and keep needing to be dug up. Our one remaining ivy is used as ground cover down by the shed and although it serves its purpose well, it needs cutting back at least twice a year.

I think it might depend on the size of your garden and how much regular maintenance you can or want to cope with.

I am definitely going to wait a year, having read your posts, it is so easy to forget those jobs of trying to get rid of invasive nuisance plants that go in on a whim. At least now I can still see what I have planted and will concentrate of de-weeding between those instead

Phew was beginning to think I was the only hater Got rid of my main part but like crafty says spoiled the colour of the brick work and with a three storey house no way I can afford brick blasting or scaffolding to clean it
My daughters got the neighbour at the bottom of her garden’s ivy infiltrating over the whole of her fence/shed etc absolute nightmare
Its my a room 101 item horrible stuff and it makes you itch and wheezy when you spend time getting rid of it

NO> hate it. had to spend a lot of money to get a small portion removed from covering our windows; overtaken by spread from next door. half the narrow garden also, as it spreads out from the fence. they don't want to remove it because it is holding up fence, but totally encroaching on our premises.
cant argue with them. I am struggling just to keep going here. next door is very aggressive at times, outspoken, domineering. can be ok, but I rather not wrangle.
keep ivy out anywhere there are neighbours who will be affected by it.

We have ornamental ivy covering an ugly wall, however, it needs regular chopping back as it winds itself around next door's plants.

I say ornamental, but it has a tendency to revert to plain green if we don't cut those bits out.

Pyracantha is so prickly that DH has got rid of it.
Passion flower rampage everywhere.

We grow some honeysuckle in with the ivy which seems to work.

Thanks Hetty, I`ll look out for that variegated one. A pyracantha would be good and would help to support the fence from my side. I think my neighbour has a clematis montana going along a separate trellis on her side, not up my fence. It has started putting tendrils through from time to time. I have to be able to cut those tendrils off so may wait a year to investigate. I haven`t seen the flowers yet, I have had montana and it became a thug so it might be more important for me to be able to get at the tendrils

shysal, I love the way the ivy blends the steps into the planting and lawn!

Craftyone, I have a variegated pyracantha on a fence. Just like ivy (or anything else, really) the variegated ones grow at a slower, more manageable pace. I'm not keen on the plain green versions.

I have a viburnum 'dawn' kept clipped close to the fence. It has lovely pink flowers now (no leaves in winter) and a beautiful scent. I'm looking forward to the sweet box flowering next in Jan/Feb as it fills the whole garden with scent.

Yes, yes... Ivy is fantastic for wildlife. Look online and you will see the benefits. Nectar for bees, a hiding place for birds. It's wonderful stuff.

It is brilliant for wildlife.

oh yes, goldheart. I forgot about that one, I grew it 35 years ago. I may also think about pyracantha, as long as I can keep it under control. Not sure about any of it yet. Thanks all

Sorry I hate ivy, so much so that if I had the power, I would Ban it!

It creeps under and over the fence from surrounding gardens and clings to our side of the fence.

When it is yanked pulled off, it removes the fence paint.

A few years ago my son bought a 'cute ivy covered house'.
Yeh right!
Nightmare!

'"Mum and Dad please can you help us remove the ivy from the front of our house.
The ivy has crept under the door frame and window frames"

Days of pulling the stuff away from the brick work, where it was actually digging to the mortar.

Even when we had removed it, the bricks looked a mess, discoloured by the ivy.

We thought that after a lot of hard work, we had managed removed it all.

Wrong!

It is still creeping up under the soil.
Grr

Wow shysal what a beautiful garden you have. I think it depends on the type of ivy craftyone we have some which is very slow growing and I am delighted with it. The more vigorous ivy is great for bird watching but you need to be careful where you olant that type.

I am fond of ornamental ivy. In my garden I have some 'in your face' steps going straight up the centre. To soften the edges I have grown ivy against the riser of each step. I trim it back a couple of times a years and have never regretted it. In this picture it is ready to be cut back!

We have a very old ivy on a dividing fence and it’s great for privacy and the birds love it but it’s a devil to trim my neighbour is very good at doing his side and we do it twice a year but it is a chore.

Well I never!

I despise ivy it grows fast and furious everywhere I don’t want it, its a bugger to get rid off I have loads of other things the birds and insects like but a BIG no to awful clinging ivy hate it with a vengeance

Oh - and a robin nests in it every year. (Can't be the same robin can it? )

We can no longer see our fence for the ivy. I planted some Goldheart in amongst the plain green stuff.

Pigeons love the berries in Winter.

I love ivy. The leaves and the knobbly flowers. I hardly ever remove it from my garden. Maybe a bit of a trim now and then

It depends on what you want. Ivy is a wonderful source of food and shelter for birds, bees, & wildlife, so I would go ahead. (In fact we have just planted an ivy to go up our hedge, for this very reason.) But for some people, the "neatness" of their gardens is the all-important factor, so ivy might not be what they want.

I love ornamental ivies and have several. Goldheart is my favourite, I think. It is a 'fedge' now, in that the original fence has gone (after 30 years) but the ivy has formed a strong hedge shape.

Just trim ivies back to keep them within bounds, maybe twice a year, Robins nest in them and many beneficial insects live there too.

If the stone was nice I wouldn’t cover it up. I would possibly want to cover the fence so I might plant ivy to one side and train over towards fence.