What to do with the ivy on garden wall?

[daisy12345]

Hi all, newbie gardeners / house-owners seek some advice please: Our garden wall is fully covered by very thick ivy (see pictures), and we've cut back the lower part of it, leaving old brown stems exposed (haven't been able to reach the upper part yet...). After some googling and reading on this forum, it looks unlikely that we'll be able to get rid of the ivy altogether in the near future. I don't mind the ivy that much, apart from concerns that it may interfere with whatever I want to grow in the borders next to it, and that it may crush the wall if overgrown... Any advice on what else we can do about it please? Growing something else on top of it to hide / make use of the old stems? Try to cut away as much old stems as possible? Is it ok to plant things in the border next to the ivy?

Any comments are much appreciated!

 

[StephenStephen]

Ivy is a favourite nesting place for Robins, the fruit are important food for birds in the winter and it won't crush your wall.
Dead ivy will fall off eventually.
So:
-Enjoy it
-Don't worry about it
-Remove it if it's in your way, or you find it annoying

 

[EddieM]

Good points above that I hadn't considered. Personally I'd remove it all, and then feel bad about it.

 

[endecotp]

Absolutely true that small birds nest in thick ivy like that - they can get in but cats probably can’t.
So whatever you do, leave it alone during the nesting season.

My local ivy resident:

 

[daisy12345]

Ivy is a favourite nesting place for Robins, the fruit are important food for birds in the winter and it won't crush your wall.
Dead ivy will fall off eventually.
So:
-Enjoy it
-Don't worry about it
-Remove it if it's in your way, or you find it annoying

Absolutely true that small birds nest in thick ivy like that - they can get in but cats probably can’t.
So whatever you do, leave it alone during the nesting season.

My local ivy resident:

View attachment 223901

Thanks both! I've read about the birds nesting too but so far haven't seen anything special apart from the occasional fat pigeons... In the summer they do attract a lot of bees...

Is it possible to grow something on top of the ivy then? I like climbers that turn red colour in the autumn, and my partner is also thinking about wisteria.

 

[conny]

Ivy, clematis and honeysuckle are all intertwined in my back garden.
When the clematis and honeysuckle have stopped blooming the Ivy is still there to hide a lot of the bare branches.

 

[EddieM]

Thanks both! I've read about the birds nesting too but so far haven't seen anything special apart from the occasional fat pigeons... In the summer they do attract a lot of bees...

Is it possible to grow something on top of the ivy then? I like climbers that turn red colour in the autumn, and my partner is also thinking about wisteria.

Forget wisteria it's far too vigorous. In it's native habitat it can grow to 100 ft.

 

[daisy12345]

Forget wisteria it's far too vigorous. In it's native habitat it can grow to 100 ft.

lol... thanks a lot for the tip!