The ivy is a valuable plant both in the garden and in pots on the balcony or terrace! Decorative and low-maintenance, it adapts everywhere, elegantly dressing walls, fences, sheds, and covering difficult soils like the base of trees where nothing else grows. Here are excellent reasons to invite ivy into your garden!
1. Ivies are decorative all year round
Thanks to their evergreen and decorative foliage, ivies provide a beautiful presence all year round, even in winter. There is a wide range of graphic or colourful varieties, some of which are very bright: variegated with cream, white, or yellow.
2. They are worry-free plants
Champions of difficult conditions, ivies are easy plants with no particular requirements. They are content with little and adapt to everything! Once established, they grow at varying rates depending on the varieties. Finally, cold and drought do not scare them.
3. There is a variety for every corner of the garden
Ivies are particularly useful for covering a wall, a fence, a garden shed, or for carpeting a slope. Green-leaved varieties can thrive in shady corners, while variegated ones need a bit of light to maintain their colour.
4. Ivies are excellent groundcovers
In the garden, ivies protect the soil and retain moisture. They help reduce soil erosion and protect wildlife. Their cover is so dense that weeds cannot penetrate.
5. They are allies of biodiversity
Ivy attracts a host of insects, including pollinators like wild bees, hoverflies, and butterflies. It also provides shelter and food for many birds: blackbirds, blue tits, and thrushes enjoy the berries, while the wren and the goldcrest like to nest in it.
Essential varieties
Our favourites
- 'Sagittifolia': A variety with soft green foliage, original and elegant, cut into 5 lobes with a very elongated central lobe.
- 'Glacier': This ivy has small leaves beautifully variegated with grey and silver.
- 'Ivalace': A small, bright green, glossy variety with tapered lobes and edges that are more or less undulate.
- 'Sulphur Heart': A whimsical, compact, and sunny ivy with large heart-shaped leaves that are bright yellow before turning lemon green. Ideal in pots.
The champions
- 'Bellecour': Nicknamed the terror of weeds, this variety stands out with its creeping and compact habit, leaving nothing to chance.
- 'Marginata Elegantissima': Beautifully variegated with cream white, it excels in winter by taking on various shades of pink.
- 'Arbori Compact': A non-climbing variety forming a small compact bush, extremely floriferous and melliferous. Perfect for borders or low hedges.
- Hedera helix: The essential species, which adapts everywhere, particularly useful for wildlife and highly visited by bees.
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