To let ivy overgrow my house?

[Zola1223]

I live in a small, mid-terrace red brick house. It's blank. I think it's ugly and uninspiring and lacking in character. It's screaming out for some greenery but the front garden is a driveway and DP refuses to give it up.

I've tried a hanging basket but the house is north facing so the pot didn't do very well. There's a hedge separating us from the neighbour on the left but it's not really enough.

I just went on a walk and saw that a neighbour has let the entire of the front of their house be consumed by ivy and some other stuff.

I believe it damages the brickwork...you could try something less invasive?

Ivy is a nightmare for brick work, causes all sorts of damage, don’t do it

There are other climbers though. Clematis grows quickly and flowers too.

Lou573

Oh I didn't think of that.

Like what? I know nothing about plants!

I've grown it successfully from pots too. So no need to dig up the ground at all.

I'd avoid climbers unless you can cut them down each year, like clematis. Especially in London (London yellow brick) they destroy the brickwork. What about having your house painted? This and a couple of shade tolerant shrubs in pots at the sides of the door will brighten up the house a lot.

Ivy is absolutely lethal. How about Virginia Creeper? It’s fabulous in autumn.

Ivy is awful to get shot of and it knows no boundaries- your neighbours will end up with it too. You can't even burn it once you've cut it down as the fumes are poisonous.

My in-laws moved into a bungalow last year, there was ivy all over the fences, it took months to cut down and dig out. New shoots of ivy are putting up along the fence lines again. We're not looking forward to helping get rid of it all over again.

Don't do it.

you need it maintaining with a good cut at least twice a year or you'll be overrun with wasps - they love the stuff

Our next door neighbour let the wall between us get overrun with ivy; it attracted loads of wasps and rats and destroyed the wall. It’s my only experience of ivy but I wouldn’t!

You can't even burn it once you've cut it down as the fumes are poisonous
That is only true of poison ivy which is very uncommon in the UK.

Historic buildings person here. Ivy will grow into the mortar and destroy your brickwork. Don’t do it! But there are lots of climbing and creeping plants which just tack themselves onto the surface, and you can regularly cut back. Google and see what you like the look of.

Something like an evergreen honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica Halliana) might be better. It has scented flowers in spring/summer and little purple berries in the autumn. The birds and bees love it.

I've grown it up a north-facing wall and it doesn't seem to bore its way into the mortar the way ivy does.

It's very vigorous though, so it wouldn't recommend it for anywhere sunnier, it'll go berserk and grow like a triffid.

Hope you like spiders...

God no. Every time I pass a house like that, all I can think of is a bug party when they have to open their windows.

Climbing Hydrangea? Wisteria?

I've got Ivy. It's lovely, but I do spend a lot of time stopping it from engulfing the windows - it's not brought down the Victorian and Georgian houses in the street so far.

Also got a honeysuckle trained up by the door - you can smell that from the next street when it flowers.

Clematis, honeysuckle, jasmine, rose. They all climb without damaging the brickwork and they all give better flowers and scents. just need to find one that will do well in a shady spot.

As others have said, ivy is very invasive, impossible to get rid of and will damage the brickwork. I'm not sure if clematis would work on a north facing wall but a house near us has very pretty Virginia creeper on a wall that gets very little sun. It will need regular trimming or it will cover the windows (as would any creepeing plant).

There is a rose called Clare Austin that will grow on a north facing wall. It’s cream coloured, repeat flowering and fragrant. That might be nice.
(Five years living in current house and STILL trying to kill the ivy the previous owners planted everywhere).

We've got the rose mentioned by pp. Lovely bloom. We're wiring up the side of the house for it to grow up over time. Hopefully this year we'll get some nice growth. Needs a frame so only damage to brick work is how dodgy your diy skills are!

We have a lovely climbing rose which pumps out the blooms every year called “Rambling Rector”. Apparently its more tolerant of shade than other roses so I should think it would work on your north facing wall. Avoid ivy at all costs!

I didn’t think ivy damaged brickwork.

I think it looks lovely.

Google if ivy damages brickwork.or wisteria. Or any of the other climbing plants, there are lots.

We have a successful climbing hydrangea in a north facing garden. Doesn’t appear to have damaged the brickwork at all and is very well established.

I have a problem with ivy out the back which I try to keep on top of. And honestly sometimes it takes all my physical strength to get it out the brick work and mortar. And that’s a tiny amount. It is seriously damaging. Don’t do it, if it dies your house will be very damaged, and it can’t be removed without extensive damage.

I have grown wisteria, which is just gorgeous in the summer, particularly when it flowers, but you need to keep on top of it, it grows like a weed, and it needs to be staked and tied up to the house, basically trained as it grow, . It is also deciduous so looses its leaves in winter.

Don’t do it, awful stuff!