I love plants and when I get the chance to grow something that I don't have to buy first, I get really excited! I have always loved houses with beautiful ivy gracefully growing up trellises or arbors. The ivy just gives the setting a cottage-y feel. This summer I was walking around the backyard and I spotted some ivy (not sure exactly what kind, but certain it was not poisonous!) randomly growing in the middle of the yard. It seemed to be growing very well, but was only about an inch or two tall. I decided to try to dig it up and pot it and see if it would grow into a climbing form. I had success and I really had to do nothing other than water and "train" it to climb. (I had to take some of the tendrils and wrap them around the structure I wanted it to climb.) Eventually, it started doing it on its own.
I highly recommend trying this out, but it may be too late to find the ivy on the ground. Also, please, please, PLEASE make sure you are not digging up poison ivy, which would be a terrible experience and not fun at all. I grew this for awhile, but caterpillars decided they liked it as well...for food. They got the best of the plant and now I have cut it back to the basic one inch plant I discovered, and it is no longer growing like it did before. My advice: watch for worms and spray if necessary. You will have beautiful ivy growing in no time...and for free!
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