I've always been attracted to vine-covered homes! They just draw me in and take my breath away! This home above is in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, California. It's a huge home that wraps around a large corner lot. It's so large that I can't even fit the whole home in the picture. Here's the view as you drive up the street towards it...
Oh-so-charming!
Here is another charming one with vines just over the garage...
I love how the red in the maple really shows up against the green vines...
It seems that most home owners opt to only put vines on one exterior side...
You may remember these next two photos from my day trip to Napa Valley...
So, I'm curious, do you all feel the same way about vine-covered homes/buildings that I do? I just LOVE them!!!
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55 comments:
They are beautiful and charming to look at, but from experience I can tell you they cause major damage to masonry and will creep into every crack and crevice of wood or window they can, and they are difficult to keep under control...I prefer to see pictures of them, not live in them!
Monica (PA)
I think their kinda neat Cindy. It
reminds me of castles in England. I was just talking about red maple trees this morning on our walk. I just love them, they are so pretty.
I need one in my yard, hubby will
love that. I just planted a white
dogwood.:O)
I also like to look at them, but wouldn't want them on my house because of bugs and other problems! Your pictures are always pretty, though. ♥♫
I love vine covered everything too :-) We are hoping to visit Carmel California one day & I love looking at the photos you post ♥
Pretty to look at, danger to own and maintain.
My mother used to warn me against plants grown on house walls. Her father refused to plant Wisteria when she was young, to her deep disappointment, because it could ruin the siding on the house. I always remember Grandpa's wisdom when choosing where to plant climbing shrubs.
There is just something majestic and magical about ivy and vines growing on a building. I used to love to look at it on our old stadium at college. It just seems to tell a story of some kind. Makes a house look homey and welcoming too.
oh la la, so lovely! Looks like something out of a fairytale :)
~ Emily N. from "too Blessed to Stress"
These are absolutely wonderful!
indeed. The college here is covered and turns bright red in the fall, so cozy and beautiful. My grandma had a trellis covered in vine that shaded the porch and it was my favorite place to be growing up.
I do love them and have had one! However, they cause problems with brick and wood both! They are so strong they damage the mortar! I had to pull them down from my house which made me sad, but I thought it best to keep the structed of the house in tact! lol
Have a great day!
Lou Cinda :)
Very beautiful homes, Cindy. Ivy certainly has it's own personality and mine is covered in it! :-)
xoxo
Jane
I love the look and have wanted to put clematis and/or roses against the house to climb, but dear hubby reminds me that they would have to be taken down when it is time to paint, aside from the damage to siding, etc. But I love Martha's (Stewart) idea of a trellis on hinges that can be lowered at painting time with minimal damage to the plant, provided it has been properly tied and tended. And these keep the plant away from growing right onto the house itself. I am still trying to convince hubby that this will work!
I share your love of ivy covered buildings and homes. We planted ivy many years ago to cover our fireplace. As many have pointed out, the downside is that it doesn't want to stay just where you want it as it has a mind of its own. But I still love our ivy!... Donna @ An Enchanted Cottage
Hello Cindy, I feel the same way you do about ivy and vine covered homes. Our home in the city had boston ivy growing on the old brick..I loved it but when we had to do work on our basement walls it all had to come out. I really missed it. My sister in England has ivy growing on her home in Essex...it looks so charming and cozy. I loved seeing all the old homes over there covered with ivy and roses. I always wanted to live in a stone cottage with ivy and roses up the walls and a thatched roof....sigh. We can dream can't we! Thanks for your beautiful post...it brought back wonderful memories. Take care....Maura :)
So beautiful and dreamy!
I love ivy covered homes. The ivy adds alot of character. I think some ivies will do damage and others wont. One of these days I'm going to go for it!
I guess these homeowners don't realize the damage vines can cause. Yep it is truly pretty to see vines growing up the wall of a home, but some vines will destroy the mortor between bricks and stone in time. Vines also leave behind an ugly black stain if and when they are removed if they have been left to grow for years.
Just tell'n it like it was told to me.
I do love the look of vines. But oh, the damage! I would love to have wisteria but that rips the siding right off the house! These houses are beautiful. I went to Linfield College, in Oregon. All the buildings were old vine covered buildings at the time.
Hi Cindy, The homes with ivy are so enchanting! Thank you for sharing!
Hugz,
Kim
I agree, beautiful to look at. However, down here in the Deep South, guess what happens when we let ivy grow anywhere near a house?
Big black cockroaches take up residence in it! Guess where they go next?
I will just admire the pictures. Maybe in other parts of the world they do not have this problem?
Scribbler
Hi Cindy,
The sides of my stone cottage are covered in it! We have not had any problems, maybe it depends on what part of the country you live in too.
We live in the North, so our's die off after the freeze.
Take Care,
Cindy
I think vine covered homes are so enchanting! I am hoping to put climbing roses on our house this year and vines on our garage.
Still loving your blog Cindy, you are so amazing!
Yes, I love them too..but hubby doesn't as he says they create too much damage. There is an old wall on my property that used to be something..not sure, but have started an ivy climbing up it as I love the look so much. When I used to have a little section in an antique shop an ivy bush starting peeping through the brick work and into the shop!!..take care, Maryann
Hola Cindy, yes, very romantic!!!!... but, you know, I had to take down many vines climbing up the stones of my home, enterin in the house, through the ceiling, etc, plus the huge amount of insects... sorry!!
Cariños,
Maria Cecilia
It is beautiful to look at but I have to agree with some of the others that I've heard it's horrible to maintain! But then again, if you can afford a house like that you can probably afford a gardener to go with it:)
Hi Cindy, I too share your love of vine covered homes. My home is covered with creeping fig. Our home is stucco and so far there hasn't been a problem. Linda in Modesto Ca.
I love vine covered homes as well, Cindy. That corner home looks like one of my Barbizon friends (dating myself, huh?) used to live in but it's so long I can't remember. It is gorgeous.
Off to look at your crab recipe below as my stomach growls...
They are lovely to look at but I just keep hearing the vine song, "the first year they sleep, second year the creep, the third year they leap." It's the leap that takes over the neighborhood, unless, of course, you have a gardener!
I have ivy growing up the walls of my potting shed. I love it. I have to trim it quite regularly because it grows so fast that it grows right into the doorway of the shed and then I can't shut the french door!
Love,
Susan and Bentley
xxoo
Hi Cindy,
Yep, me too! They are so romantic looking. I just expect Mr. Darcy to come galloping by or at least to saunter out the door. Directly to me, his long lost love....
But I have heard that the vines aren't too great for the house itself, very damaging and all that. Still, they do make a place look really dreamy!!
We have dear friends who live in Willow Glenn, in an Eichler which is really 50's mod and very cool.
XO
Heidi - Heart and Home
The are so charming and I love them above the garage. Have you ever been to Savannah? Talk about lovely homes covered in vine....gorgeous.
I love vine-covered homes... it's a Madeline thing. :) I also love the Willow Glenn neighborhood. The houses are so lovely-- my most favorite area of San Jose.
Hugs,
Jill
My husband grew up in San Jose and we love driving through the beautiful neighborhoods when we visit there ..and Napa is just so gorgeous! Love it thanks for sharing!
Miss Blooomers
Love them! Love them!
I love them as well, but was always told having vines grow on to the structure was a big no no. My sister said she thought there was a particular one that didn't hurt it like most of them do but I've no idea if that's true or what it is.
I have ivy planted below my trellis. I plan to pull it back from the house every evening when I water though so it stays where it belongs and doesn't attach to the actual house.
I'm with you Cindy--I love vine covered homes too. I have "freeway ficus" growing on my home. I have to keep an eye on it as it is invasive. At our home in the Wine Country, I have Boston Ivy going crazy.
One day, an old woman knocked on my door and said she grew up in my home! She said it was covered with ivy during WW2. Amazing....
I used to have Ivy climbing on my house, but it really took over. It harbored lots of spiders, too.
It was very charming, but we pulled it off when we painted the house.
~elaine~
I do like it Cindy, and our home is covered in Creeping Virgina. I will take a photo and email you one day :o)
I have to disagree with some of the comments though, creepers don't cause damage to buildings If you have damage already it will make it worse, but it isn't the cause of it. And they are easy to keep under control, it just takes a bit of effort. I know this as I've lived with our creeper for years, totally proplem free. No hassles with creepy crawlies either, but I'm in England, so that could be a factor.
But yes, I agree, I think vine covered homes look beautiful :o)
I don't like to think of all the bugs which lurk there. Also agree with the damage they can cause, they could lift a roof if they get into the loft space.
Love them! I would like to have a little cottage nestled in a lush green setting, all covered with ivy. :) Of course, I'd like to have a gardener too! :) I don't think I could keep up with creeping vines alone.
Have a great week!
Melissa :)
Got to agree with you - LOVE these! Wonderful photos!
Yes I do. And i just planted a whole wall of creeping fig to cover the side of my house. can't wait for it to take off.
Oh what beautiful pictures. The vines look really nice on the houses. Thanks for sharing.
I found this warning on a horticulture site about creeping fig vines and thought I'd share it for those of you who have, or are thinking about planting it.
WARNING
Do not plant near wooden structures as these surfaces are damaged by the adhesive produced by the vine. Consider this a high maintenance plant when grown on structures as pruning will be required several times a year to remove growth from windows, roofs, etc. as the vine relentlessly endeavors to coat everything it encounters in a green blanket.
It is such a romantic notion to live in a vine covered home, but I agree with Monica ~ they can be very destructive.
I think they are beautiful, but they are definitely not an option where I live. It is so humid and fertile in the Coastal South, that my zucchinis seem to grow 2" a day! If we planted vines on our house, the fire department would have to extract us from our home with the jaws of life within a week!
enchanting indeed!
I just love them, too. There is just something about that look. I would love to do it on our house, but hubby is not for it. He says it would be a lot of extra work keeping it trimmed.
I love vines of all kinds but I am especially partial to English Ivy. I only wish I had a wall to grow it on, my house is covered in siding and the ivy would not be good for it. But not far from our home there is a house where they have trained English Ivy on to their chain link fence. They trained it into a diagonal lattice type design. It actually makes the chain link look very attractive.
Hi Cindy,
My sister lived only a few blocks from the Willow Glen area of San Jose. It is truly a pretty neighborhood. I love the look of vines growing on a house, but to be truthful, I can only think of bugs and spiders living in the vines. I know its a terrible thought but I just wouldn't want any rodents or big spiders possibly getting into my home. LOL as you can tell I do not like spiders or rodents.
By the way I do love your new ride!! Look'n good!
Take care and enjoy your day,its beautiful in Menlo Park this morning.
Hugs, Elizabeth
Cindy,
I find ivy-covered anything to be romantic and charming. For a time, we lived just off campus from Cornell University and I fell in love with the ivy covered architecture of the campus.
That don't call it the "Ivy League" for nothing! :-)
Marilyn (in Dallas)
How about:
"THEY" don't call it the Ivy League for nothing. LOL
They look lovely, but as someone who spent hours and hours and hours (nay, MONTHS) pulling ivy from EVERYWHERE, including inside our drop-ceilinged basement (it had crawled THROUGH concrete foundation), I cringe when I see it.
Absolutely, I love them!
I love them so much that I've just planted some that in the coming years will totally cover our house!
Vine is so charming and welcoming!
Francesca
If ivy and vines are so destructive to buildings, how is it that it has covered the walls certain churches, universities, and castles for hundreds of years?
Is it because of different types of tendrils? Or is it because of different construction materials and methods?
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