Many people believe that ivy is a parasitic plant, and therefore will devalue a property, but Monty Don insists that this is not the case.
'To make it clear, ivy is not a parasite, so does not draw nutrients from the plant that it climbs up,' he says. 'Indeed, if you sever the main trunk of Ivy so that no nutrient is being sent up from the soil, it will invariably die.'
Perhaps, then, it's time to welcome it into your garden.