Project – Ivy Hanging Basket

On By TimelessladyIn Projects

One thing I have in abundance is ivy. My backyard has a dry area of ground beneath the pine trees and the only thing that will grow there is ivy…so ivy it is. Good thing I like ivy. Each year, two or three times during spring, summer and autumn, I must pull the ivy climbing the tree trunks away from the bark. This year I found a good use for the long strands.

I saved the cuttings and used the longer pieces to create a living hanging basket. I wove the ivy through the wire mesh of the basket, tucking the ends to the inside.

I cut the bottom off of two brown paper bags and lined the basket with them, carefully trimming away the excess paper level with the top of the basket.

A few petunias finished off the project. I gave it all a good watering and hung the basket from a hook beneath the crabapple tree.

The cooler weather and frequent misting with the hose has kept the ivy alive. I’m hoping the roots will eventually pierce the paper bag and the ivy will begin to grow again. I’ll update in a month or two.

15 thoughts on “Project – Ivy Hanging Basket”

  1. Kathy,
    You have the most amazing of ideas !
    You have put the ivy on the lining of the wire basket and the brown paper lining inside the wire basket- do you plan for the roots to go inside the brown paper and into the mud you put in the basket for the petunias ?
    Perhaps the ivy will take the support of the crab apple tree as well ?
    Susie

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    1. Hi Susie, I’m hoping as the paper bag decomposes the ivy roots will mat together and keep the soil inside the basket. Ivy is so resilient. I will keep it inbounds on the pot. The perimeter of my yard is filled with ivy. I love it, but it is invasive if you don’t keep pruning it.

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      1. Hopefully there are no snakes inside the ivy- in my native place if we saw a creeper on the ground like that we would like to wear boots when we went inside it. Ivy does look beautiful- I have read old English houses had ivy growing on the walls and it is quite beautiful. Must keep the houses really cool too.
        Susie

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        1. Susie, I know for sure that some black snakes have lived in the ivy. They are harmless, and they keep the rodent population down. My husband doesn’t like to see snakes, but if they are not poisonous I’m not too alarmed.

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  2. How clever you are! I promise not to envy your ivy, though. I jumped off my grandmother’s porch into a huge ivy patch and landed near a large spider. That must have been 64 years ago, and I have never repeated it.

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    1. You are right Anne, anything and everything hides in that ivy…including many a lost toy from children and grandchildren. I wonder how many little plastic green army men could be found back there???

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    1. This also saved me from buying more cocoa liners. They almost cost as much as buying a new basket. The discounted ones I found were not good quality, so I thought this might be a good stand-in. I’m happy with it since I love the ivy. Thanks so much!

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