Question
I am going to be doing a wedding in my backyard.  My mother has lots of english ivy.  How hard is it to transplant it & how.  Also, do you have any pictures or suggestions on how to. You said you done topiaries, how hard are those to make.  Do you have any pictures that you have done. I've got a gazebo we are doing the wedding under. And around the gazebo has been landscaped with big to medium size rocks then pea gravel.  In that there is Hosta's & Spider grass. My husband made a bench out of a cedar tree & that is in there as well.  But I was needing hard to fill places with the ivy & topiaries & various uses.  
Please help in anyway.Thanks so much
Stacy forgy  

Answer
Stacy,
It all depends on when you are doing the wedding. Ivy does grow at a rapid pace IF you work with it for the first few weeks after transplanting. If you want it in the ground you will need some long rooted divisions. Most nurseries sell it in pots.You can get a few long strands from the pots by dividing it by the roots. The best way to do it and get a quantity started sooner is by getting from someone that already has a good established bed of ivy. You probably know someone that has some that would not mind if you took some out of their bed perhaps. Make sure the soil that you are transplanting it into is prepared beforehand.You need some fresh potting soil and a close water source to keep it moist. You will also need some metal garden staples.They are U haped. Go to Lowes or Home Depot where they have a quantity of them so they are much less expensive.You will nedd quite a few staples to hold down the long rooted strands of ivy so that it stays in contact with the soil. Keep the newly planted ivy strands moist but not soaking wet.You will have to water with a mist wand on your water hose so that you get the area moist and even.As long as the ivy has time and water and every week use a fertilizer like Miracle Gro(but don't over do it)it will root quite easily in about 3 weeks.
To do a topiary get some good sized pots. I prefer the resin type pots as opposed to the heavy clay pots.They soak up too much water from the plants.Get some good metal structures that support climbing ivy.Go to Lowes or Home Depot or a nursery that has a garden center with lots of accessories like this. You should be able to get any shape you want. Again use fresh potting soil and fill the pots about 3 inches from the rim. Place the ivy in the pot first. Topiaries are best when you start them with the potted type of ivy that do not have long runner roots but have a central bottom root system.These would be best purchased in pots rather than from an established ivy bed.You can buy small pots of ivy just about anywhere.Place them about 4 inches apart around the entire outer portion of the pot.Water VERY thouroughly the first time you plant.Then place the topiary form down into the pot around the INSIDE of the ivy plants so that the ivy can grow onto the outer edges of the topiary frame.Get some skinny green coated wire and secure the ivy stems onto the topiary frame so they will grow upward.As they grow you will need to secure the strands with the wire. The fastest growing shape of topiary would be the cone shaped frame that looks like a little Christmas tree. I have also used small tomato cages and those work just fine,but for a wedding I think a good sturdy black or green heavier obelisk frame would look best.They are just fancier looking.Just make sure you keep the soil in the pots moist and use some Miracle Gro fertilizer every week and place the pots in a shady spot.It will take about 3 to 4 months for a good established SMALL cone topiary. If you would like to see some photos go to www.google.com and just type in a direct search in the search box for "Ivy Topiaries" and you will get MANY different photos of them.

If you are feeling like you will not have time for all of this to gro you could look at some great fake topiaries and concentrate on the outdoor beds.They make artificial ivy topiaries that look so real no one would ever suspect they were fake.Some even feel like real ivy.Be prepared however to pay a considerable amount more for those than the cheaper fakes.You can also buy real ones already full and perfectly shaped at nurseries or big garden centers but these are the most expensive of all. It takes a while to get a FULL,dense topiary that covers the entire frame.You have to trim and keep securing the growing strands.But after they are full they just require a little trimming and just a little water.They are very carefree when done correctly and last forever.I have some that I have had for about 6 years and I just do a monthly trim and water about every 3 weeks.
Hope this is helpful info and Good Luck on the wedding.I hope it goes smoothly for you!