English ivy (Hedera helix) is a very vigorous and aggressive woody evergreen vine. Outdoors, English ivy is used as an ornamental ground-cover or elegant green covering for stone or brick walls. This is the plant that gave Ivy League colleges their name. English ivy is also a very popular indoor houseplant for hanging baskets. A European native, English ivy was brought to the New World by colonial settlers, but soon naturalized into the wild. 

English ivy is frequently used as a dense ground-cover in places where turfgrass and other ground-covers do not readily grow. It is also used as an ornamental climbing cover for fences, stone walls, and brick facades. English ivy will grow as much as 100 feet outward as a ground-cover or upward as a climbing vine. As a ground-cover, the plants stay about 6 to 8 inches tall.