Once upon a time, a dense undergrowth of ivy covered about a third of my backyard. Not having time to do anything, I let them be. In time, some had the audacity to climb the pine and maple trees, choking the trunks with vines as wide as an inch. That's when I drew the line: "time to say good bye," as the song goes. So, each day after work, I randomly picked up a piece of vine and rolled it into a ball. When it became too big to handle, I simply snipped off the vine and started on another ball. This is a good way to clear the ivy, and I owed the tip to a former colleague. It took an awful long time to clear the vines--two semesters and an entire summer. (I worked at a university then and reckoned in academic-year time.)
To remove the vines that have climbed ... oh so high, I broke them off at ground level. Cut off from sustenace, they died and eventually fell off the trunks. Sadly, I lost one of my beautiful pines--it was choked to death. After the dead vines had fallen off, I found dark indentations on its truck. The dead pine was unstable and had to be cut down. All that remains now is a low stump, home to moss and bits of grass. Now and then I even find a small wild blackberry struggling to grow through it. Ever since, I have made sure that uninvited vines straying from my neighbor's garden are clipped before they venture too far into my yard.
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