Sunday, March 9, 2014

The Aesthete's Alphabet - I is for Ivy

I know many gardeners who are not that keen on ivy, finding it too invasive. Not being possessed of the greenest of fingers, I find ivy a very useful plant to have in my garden. Quick growing, evergreen and hardy, it can hide unsightly walls or fences in no time at all. It also works fantastically as a ground cover, requires very little maintenance and can be pruned and trained into whatever shape or form is required. Frank Lloyd Wright, architect and interior designer is attributed with saying "Doctors bury their mistakes, architects cover them with ivy". The picture below is of an area in my garden where I battled to get anything to grow very well because of the shade and bad soil. The ivy hides a horrible vibracrete wall and works as a ground cover between the pots.

Ivy can also be grown indoors as long as it is exposed to sufficient light. Planted in a beautiful urn or decorative pot with the stems trailing down, ivy makes a wonderful table decoration. Have a look at these images and see what a versatile plant ivy can be and maybe you too will be converted.