In the month of flowers, when the gardens burst with colors and aromas, the modest presence of ivy (
Hedera
spp.) always remains.
Whether it's winter or summer, its green leaves give shine to practically any corner.
What is it that ivy has that makes us recognize it since we are children and that, despite that, we pay almost no attention to it as adults, even though its presence has been with us for centuries.
As historians remind us, it is a plant consecrated to many gods from different cultures: Osiris in Egypt, Attis in Phrygia or the Greek Dionysus and the Roman Bacchus.
Precisely, in ancient times it was thought that drinking wine, while wearing ivy leaves on the head, allowed people to achieve the mystical ecstasy produced by alcohol, but without falling into drunkenness.
Perhaps for this same reason we can find how the god Bacchus himself crowns a nobleman with ivy in the famous painting by Velázquez
Los Borrachos
.
Although it was also an attribute that poets received, by virtue of its imperishable glory.
In the Prado Museum, where this painting is cared for, ivy is the plant that appears in a greater number of works, along with the rose.
This is because this climber makes an appearance in hundreds of landscapes and decorations.
When least expected, its unmistakable lobed leaves decorate walls, stones, tree trunks or still lifes in compositions by Juan de Arellano, Fortuny, Van Dyck, Goya or El Greco.
Its symbology helps this notoriety in the art world.
Loyalty and friendship are two of its attributes, since with its aerial roots it attaches itself to almost any support, overcoming difficulties, as it should happen among true friends.
Its evergreen leaves, with that shimmering green, make ivy the emblem of eternal life, and therefore it accompanies a multitude of sacred scenes, both in painting and sculpture.
'The Triumph of Bacchus', also known as 'The Drunkards', by Diego Velázquez.getty
In our gardening field, this provides a perfect cover for the ground in those places where a quick and easy option is sought to cover the land.
If it has enough humidity, it is even capable of colonizing parts that receive direct sun, dispelling the idea that ivy only likes the shadows.
It is true that in the forests of a large part of the Iberian Peninsula we see it growing under the treetops, but it will quickly start running to climb the trunks and thus reach the sunlight.
In order to adhere to the aforementioned aerial roots, its stems need solid surfaces such as walls, better than the metal fences on which it is often planted.
For these fences, other types of climbing plants are more appropriate, such as the ubiquitous star jasmine (
Trachelospermum jasminoides
), which is currently showing off its best clothes, being in full bloom.
Ivy can also be an effective ground cover.
Antonello Dellanotte Antonello Dellanotte
If we talk about flowers, the ivy does not pride itself on having very striking ones, but they are very useful for the pollinating fauna.
This is due to the fact that its inflorescences appear at the end of autumn, when there is a shortage of nectar and pollen available to those insects that survive on cold days.
Next, its blackish fruits will take over in terms of utility, since they ripen in the middle of winter and will be a precious food for many species of birds.
It is very possible that we feel indifference towards ivy, but this symptom can be alleviated when we appreciate the enormous number of varieties that nurseries offer.
Many of them have smaller or strange leaves, becoming a paragon of grace to colonize small outdoor spaces, such as a wall on our terrace, for example.
We also have variegated ivy, with leaves of two or more colors due to lack of chlorophyll that stains them somewhere.
Among these, a wonderful one is
Hedera helix,
or
Goldheart
.
Its variegation is a very vivid yellow tone, which contrasts perfectly with the green nuances.
If you put it to climb up a brick wall or painted white, the effect is beautiful.
To grow them, whether in pots or planted in the ground, they benefit from a fresh and moist substrate, without waterlogging, although many can withstand a certain degree of dryness.
In summer they can be prone to being attacked by the microscopic red spider mite (
Tetranychus urticae
) in very dry environments, but this can be counteracted if care is taken to wash their leaves when watering them.
A good organic fertilizer in spring, and another one at the end of summer, will make new leaves grow, to try to earn the eternal life of the ivy.
