Hi Sandersfam, if you want to hold on to your Ivy, then take advantage of it's growing habbit and use it as support for a vine, choose a vine that flowers so that it will add colour to the wall and the Ivy when the vine is in flower, there are some really nice Clemetis that would suit the bill, dont know what time of day you took the picture of your Ivy, but the little shade would be ideal for most vines to survive, the problem with the Ivy and any other plants you add to that area, is the Ivy is the more dominant plant and will take first grab at any water that gets to that area, so whatever you plant, add loads of manure/compost to the planting hole so that the new plant has plenty neutrients and moisture to get it romping up the Ivy, there are lots of vines to use as Ecrane said before, but make sure you can offer water and feed to keep whatever you choose going over the growing season as Ivy really is a hungry plant and as said, can easy take over the soil as well as the wall, you could add trellis on the wall for vines that need support away from the Ivy, as plenty of greenery of different textures and coloured flowers will take the eyes away from the pipework and in a year or so, you will never know it is there, that is till you need to fix the pipe or empty the guttering ha ha ha, good luck and dont be dispondent, there are plants to suit all types of situations and soils, just try find a book in the book store for climbing vines and look at the pictures so you can write down the names for you to shop for them, also write the soil conditions and N.S.E.or west facing situations and that will help avoid the wrong vine for your situation, also concider growing things in large containers and stick trellis into them, then when you have to move due to a new posting, you can just take them with you, saves you worrying about hard work and leaving the work behind. good luck. WeeNel.
