Perhaps it's hormones or the weather or something, but the place and you need a quick lift. This is the time to consider putting in ivy -- the perfect plant for many landscaping problems!
Well - maybe it's not a completely perfect plant and maybe it DOES tend to take over things if you don't keep watching it. But for low maintenance coverings for walls, trellises, fences, woodpiles, and ground, ivys have a lot to recommend them. It's as at home in the shade as it is in the sun, making it a popular planting underneath large shade trees.
When you mention the word, ivy, most people think of the generic English Ivy -- green, grows well (a bit TOO well in some places), covers nearly everything. It's a conservative plant, found on ivy-covered "ivory towers" -- and on the professors there, too. It's very widely naturalized throughout the world and one of those groundcovers you can plant without guilt.
It's also a good plant choice to put some subtle colors into your wildscape. Hedera cultivars offer a number of interesting leaf-shapes and come in a variety of colors. Hedera Helix Goldcraft, for instance, is a stunning ivy with chartreuse-gold variegation, while 'Atropurpurea' has a bronze or purple cast to its leaves in winter. Pick a darker-leafed variety for your shady areas. Areas with sunshine and partial sun are best for the lovely variegated vines.
Ivy generally likes a well-mulched, well-drained soil (mind you, it'll grow in almost anything, but mulch and good drainage are what it likes!) If you want the plants to grow quickly, you need to water them thoroughly during the first year; the time when they are just getting established. After the first year frequent watering isn't as important, particularly if the ground was well-mulched to begin with.
Because ivy is so popular, there is a variety that's hardy to almost every zone on the planet (Almost. I haven't seen any for areas north of Zone 2, but there may be some). However, in spite of this hardiness they often suffer damage from cold and dryness during the winter. Take time each spring to look over your ivy plantings and prune off the dead and dying branches -- and direct the plants to grow where you want them to grow! Remember, if neglected, they will try to take over your yard, your
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