Ivy - Hedera helix

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Ivy - Hedera helix
© Susan A Tindall

Native ivy is a vigorous, evergreen climbing shrub common throughout England in woodlands, hedges, banks, rocks and walls. It is an excellent wildlife plant - probably one of the most important you can have in a garden - supporting many different species in different ways. It offers shelter, nesting sites and food for birds, is the food plant for many species of moth and its very late flowers offer nectar to a huge range of insects at a crucial time of year when alternative sources are becoming scarce. Holly blue butterflies lay eggs on ivy in the summer but on holly in the spring. There are many varieties of ivy available with different variegated leaves but the native one is by far the most beneficial for wildlife.The woody stems of ivy have pads of rootlets which cling on to supporting structures such as walls or tree trunks. If there is no support, ivy will scramble across the ground, making an excellent ground cover plant. The evergreen, glossy and deep green leaves have three to five triangular lobes. Clusters of tiny, five-petalled green flowers appear from late summer through to November, ripening into black leathery berries the following spring. This late flowering season is a valuable source of nectar for many insects prior to hibernation, particularly bees and butterflies. In an urban garden the berries of ivy provide many birds, particularly wood pigeon, various thrushes and blackbirds, with abundant food supplies during the most severe months of winter, when little else is available to them.

Ivy prefers a rich, well-drained soil. It will tolerate shade well. Ivy is wrongly believed to damage mature trees and well-intentioned people may cut it back, destroying valuable nesting sites. It can be propagated from cuttings or is readily available from plant nurseries. It is also a plant widely used by flower arrangers.

In ancient Greece a priest would present newly married couples with an ivy wreath, the plant having long been associated with the virtue of fidelity. On account of its pagan associations, the use of ivy to decorate homes and churches was banned by one of the early Councils of the Church, but the custom still remains. Many English taverns once bore an ivy bush symbol over their doors to advertise the superior quality of their alcoholic beverages. Traces of this practice are preserved to the present day by pubs which have the word 'ivy' in their names.

Animals

Angle shades moth, Birds, Blackbird, Blackcap, Brimstone, Butterflies, Collared dove, Comma, Drone fly, Fieldfare, Goldfinch, Herald moth, Holly blue, Honey bee, House sparrow, Ladybirds, Large yellow underwing moth, Mistle thrush, Red admiral, Red-tailed bumble bee, Redwing, Robin, Song thrush, Spotted flycatcher, Stock dove, Swallowtailed moth, Treecreeper, Turtle dove, White-tailed bumble bee, Woodpigeon, Wren

Foliage	Green
Flower	Green, September to November
Moisture	(Average)
Sunlight	(Full sun)
Origin	Native