Growing hostas with english ivy

I have a small shade garden on one side of my house along the privacy fence I share with a neighbor. I have multiple hostas, some Solomon's Seal and Actaea (Snake Root) along with a hydrangea and few azaela's. Some english ivy has spread under the fence from my neighbors yard and is quickly filling in around these plants. I really like the look but am concerned that the ivy will crowd out the other plants, especially the hostas. Does any one have any experience with this? Can these plants co-exist with the ivy?

I have the Ivy under some of mine around the fish pond. If the Ivy gets too thick I just cut some out. BEV

I have Ivy in my Japanese garden. If left to do it's thing it will cover the area with a thick mat. I have to go in there yearly and show it who's boss or it will get out of control. I didn't get to it this year until the end of July and what a jungle I found. As bad as it was, non of the other plantings in there were suffering. It just looked messy and overgrown. I pulled all the Ivy (5 wheel barrows full) that was infringing on other planting's space so things looked more orderly. I have a lot of mulch in there and the Ivy was growing on top of it. As long as you keep your eye on it and don't let it take over, you should have no problem with it among your other plantings. It's not maintenance free that's for sure.

Love that little area of the yard. Wish we had a fence, but it would cost a mint. BEV

We got 100's of feet of fencing free. The homeowner's association made a friend take all his fencing down because the style of fence didn't conform to the subdivision rules. Picky, picky.

Wow! Poor guy. I could use a few friends like yours. : )

I'd keep the ivy away from the hostas. Don't let it get too close. You can still have a border of ivy if you keep it under control but it will choke out anything in it's path if allowed.

We arent allowed fences of any kind, along with a list(covenent) of other neighborhood rules.
Most pertain to esthetics, no window AC units
no clotheslines
no unregistered vehicles
no campers
etc.
There arent regulations about my garden so I'm satisfied

GH, I'd steer clear of the ivy completely.
Way too much trouble to try to keep it in bounds.

I agree with Weerobin- I made that mistake when I first started my shade garden- and I admit I still love the look of Ivy creeping up a tree stump or an old wall BUT if I had it to do over I would never have it in a cultivated area-
My hands (for literally ripping it out by the roots) are not as strong as they used to be but the darn ivy just gets stronger every year!
It's one of those "spreads freely" plants that makes me want to say "run for your life" when I hear someone offer it to a "friend"!! I also include Chinese Lantern, Bishop's Weed and even my sweet smelling Lily of the Valley among others in that group.
Considering that I am a pretty layed back, undisciplined gardener that is saying a lot!!

mwhit - Your pic there shows a very happy garden bed. Add honeysuckle, pachysandra and wintercreeper to that list. I'd also add Vinca (periwinkle) but I'm too fond of the blue flower color.

I have ivy in several areas of my garden and I manage to keep it under control. It is a brilliant plant for wildlife especially birds so I feel it is worthwhile growing for that reason alone.

About ten years ago, I set a half-flat of English ivy, left over from a landscaping job, under a pine tree in my holding area for extra plants to be used "whenever". I forgot about them, and one year later, they were rooted in the ground and taking off. Now, the ivy cover over an acre of semi-wooded area, climbing up 40' trees and threatening to cover the driveway if I don't whack it back annually. I'll admit it does look nice under the trees, but it can be a pest when it insists on growing where it isn't wanted. English ivy is banned in some states. Interestingly, it was commonly believed that it would not develop mature foliage and flower in North America, but has been doing so and consequently setting seed that is spread by birds. Hence, being banned in some areas. I think some states in the Pacific Northwest were the first to ban it.

Ivy will only mature and flower when it reaches the height of its host so that could be a fence or a 40 foot tree!

And that it does, now in North America! I don't know why the "experts" didn't think it would mature and flower on this continent, but ...surprise, it is!