I wonder if I should approach the property owner of the first two images I had sent and see if the ivy growing on their wall had an adverse effect on the inside?
I have been reading that Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper are masonry-friendly Ivies. It is the English Ivy that is invasive and can cause damage to masonry.
I would happily grow Ivy on my own wall, but on a neighbours wall that I would be liable for any damage, Id give it a miss myself.
It depends on the brickwork and type of structure … also the amount of control you’re prepared to do … I know of buildings where ivy has grown between the wall and window frame, forcing the window to skew, rain today penetrate, rot to set in … etc etc etc
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
There’s a lovely old brick wall a few doors away from us, pavement on one side and their garden on the other. An untrained ivy was growing from the garden over the wall and encroaching on the pavement so had to be cut right back. Now that has been done you can see how the ivy has not only climbed over the wall but pushed through it and rendered sections of it dangerous. A repair is going to be very expensive. As the post above implies, ivy in gardens can be very troublesome.
Then I have been thinking about the free standing raised bed 2’ from the wall with a trellis incorporated into it. This will have to be very sturdily built to take the enormous weight of mature ivy and, even so, I could foresee it collapsing within just a few years.
There’s a lovely old brick wall a few doors away from us, pavement on one side and their garden on the other. An untrained ivy was growing from the garden over the wall and encroaching on the pavement so had to be cut right back. Now that has been done you can see how the ivy has not only climbed over the wall but pushed through it and rendered sections of it dangerous. A repair is going to be very expensive. As the post above implies, ivy in gardens can be very troublesome.
Then I have been thinking about the free standing raised bed 2’ from the wall with a trellis incorporated into it. This will have to be very sturdily built to take the enormous weight of mature ivy and, even so, I could foresee it collapsing within just a few years.
What if I made the length of the raised bed half the length of the wall. Also what if I made the max height of the trellis 3 metres? Surely that would not topple over? I also have the option of securing the trellis to the walls on either side which are not party walls but my own walls.
Is that not in your garden? It looks like it’s planted in the corner by the fence there?
The vast majority of it is attached to the wall. Just a screen grab from google maps shows it in a fuller picture, it does appear to only reach halfway down the wall though.
Ahhh I see! It could be affecting the gutter looking at that picture, or messing with the tiles, I’d definitely get a surveyor or someone out to check it, if it’s the hydrangea causing it, it’d be sad to see it go but you obviously don’t want your house to be damaged by it.
Maybe some of the planters you can get that have trellis built in would be a good compromise? I think jasmine or honeysuckle don’t mind the shade
I think what your neighbour has done here with the large planters looks good. I suspect ivy on old house walls dries out the render between the bricks hence letting in moisture so I'd keep it off walls. The curse of the victorian garden. It might be controllable in a planter /trellis set up like here. One alternative is Euonymus winter creeper (the white /green one) that could grow up from a trellis planter and be more control able. It brightens up dark spaces.
Leaving aside all the party wall issues, as I think that's covered... on to the plants. I went to a recording of Gardener's Question Time which will be broadcast on 20 May, where someone asked about climbers to grow in a similar (not exactly the same) situation and James Wong had some interesting suggestions. I can't remember exactly what, but GQT do provide a plant list. The first suggestion from all panellists was Hydrangea petiolaris though, which your neighbour has already... The questioner had a shady courtyard but 1. It was in London, so James Wong's suggestions took advantage of the urban heat island effect. I'm not sure where you are? and 2. I think they were planting into soil, which makes a difference too. Might be worth looking it up after 20 May though.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Then I have been thinking about the free standing raised bed 2’ from the wall with a trellis incorporated into it. This will have to be very sturdily built to take the enormous weight of mature ivy and, even so, I could foresee it collapsing within just a few years.
Maybe some of the planters you can get that have trellis built in would be a good compromise? I think jasmine or honeysuckle don’t mind the shade
The questioner had a shady courtyard but 1. It was in London, so James Wong's suggestions took advantage of the urban heat island effect. I'm not sure where you are? and 2. I think they were planting into soil, which makes a difference too. Might be worth looking it up after 20 May though.