(Punny alternate post title: Heard It Through The Giant Non-Grape Vine)
Ok, so remember the ol’ crazyvine that was putting the squeeze on an oak tree in our backyard that we mentioned last fall? It’s a scene straight outta Jumanji.
About half a year ago we cut the base of the vine…
… in an attempt to kill it and rescue our oak tree from its death grip.
And then it just sat there, a la Rose in Titanic. It never let go. And things took a turn for the ugly when the leaves and branches got all dry and dead.
So after 6 months of waiting for it to give up the ghost and magically fall from the tree, we decided that we’d need to take matters into our own hands… with the help of some pruning shears. Basically our method was to clip each dead branch off right at the base where it met the vine since we couldn’t wrestle the vine itself from the tree (it was literally as firm as cement on there, and we didn’t want to damage the oak).
Miraculously we could reach almost every last branch thanks to a ladder and a long handled branch cutter for those upper portions.
Here’s a before shot for ya from last year:
And an after that I just snapped this morning:
It’s nice to no longer have what appears to be a tree that’s eating the house.
One more before:
And an after from that angle now:
I love that there’s not a giant vine weighting down the oak anymore, and the new openness of the upper patio is awesome. It used to feel pretty closed in – and so many berries and pointy leaves (both of which the vine produced en mass) used to fall all over the table and chairs. It’s nice to be free of that dusting o’ junk.
So that’s how you ignore a vine for a few years, then attack the base, then wait for it to surrender and fall to the ground by some vine-miracle, and then make things happen with some shears and a ladder. Any pruning or yard stuff going on in your neck of the woods?
Seriously, is there anything you guys can’t do? Don’t answer that…keep the mystery alive. ;)
Haha!
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Yeah! You guys are totally amazing! That is a tough job but still you made it. You possessed skills combined with pure determination to finish your goal. Truly inspiring! :-D
Aw thanks Sam!
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Nice work! It looks much better!
Perfect timing for us on this post, too! Looks like we’re going to be doing quite a bit of tree removal this weekend!
http://littlehousebigheart.com/2013/04/18/an-inconvenient-tree/
Good luck Jess!
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Your oak tree thanks you! There is a lot of yard clean-up and pruning and raking going on here. It is finally Spring in Michigan. ( for a few days anyway until the temps plummet this weekend!)
Yeah! I’m dying to get out and do some cleanup, but we’ve got more flooding predicted. Love you, Michigan, but enough for a bit, ok?
I live in Michigan too, and we spent all day Sunday wrestling a vine from our front porch! It was cracking the concrete and everything! Took me and my husband 4 hours to pull out! And now they’re calling for snow again next week. Stinkin Michigan! :)
Holy cow!
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Just had to pipe in here so everyone can feel sorry for me…I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and they are calling for double digits in inches of snow we are supposed to get tomorrow….who can get me a rental in Florida?! ;)
Nooo! Sending you warm wishes for lots of sun to melt the snow fast!
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I’m in MI, too, and there is flooding going on EVERYWHERE! Friends have posted countless pictures of flooded roadways, floating cars, lakes forming in their backyards (and basements) and the mayor of Grand Rapids even asked people to conserve water by “showering with a buddy” haha!!
I’m sooo glad we laid french drain tiles in our notoriously soggy backyard 2 autumns ago–we are draining quite nicely =]
In regards to the post–it seems like that would be much healthier for the tree, but I personally would sooo miss the privacy the vine provided! We trimmed an overgrown shrub near our deck last year and I STILL mourn the loss of privacy from our neighbor’s house. But I bet the oak is happier!
Oh yes, that house you see in the very very far distance is actually on the other side of a street that’s further over than ours (not even our street, maybe 300+ feet away) – so I’m pretty sure if he came out naked and did a dance in his front yard I couldn’t see him – not that I’d encourage that… hah!
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Looks great! I’m also trying to tackle pruning some trees in my backyard that are creeping over from the neighbor. Unfortunately the branches are too high up for me to reach with my ladder. Was wondering about the tool you used and how hard it was. I’ve heard some of the pruners on poles can be difficult. Someone even suggested a chainsaw on a pole (I guess they sell it, not just a Jerry-rigged version).
Suggestions?
We love our branch clipper. It basically has a long arm and you pull a string and it clips the branch. It’s John’s dad’s (probably 10+ years old) since he gave it to us after moving to a place without a yard that they have to maintain. So sorry I don’t have brand info (doesn’t have a logo anywhere).
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My Mom loves what she calls her chain saw on a pole for high up branch trimming (she’s only 5’1″). It’s made by Black and Decker (not super expensive). You charge the battery and then attach it to the tool to power it. So not as scary as a real chain saw but very similar to John’s tool with alittle more power. We use it alot for medium sized limb trimming.
That sounds awesome.
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Sooo I actually work for Black & Decker and yes we make pole pruners that are not top heavy (aka your arms won’t fall off) and that actually work. If your branches are more than 6-8″ you’ll have to get a full-on chainsaw but anything less than that you can use a pole pruner for. Remington sells a chainsaw (corded) on a pole but it can be top heavy which is not ideal and Worx makes the jawsaw (corded) but again its top heavy and can run you about $150. Go to your local Lowes or Home Depot and ask about these. I believe Ryobi & B&D are the only ones that make cordless pole pruners aside from some random brands.
Short and to the point, Petersiks! haha Big transformation, few words, but still thorough, nice work on your goals! lol
Woop woop!
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Or landlord did some pruning recently and left the remnants behind. I used one remnant to help my dye a onesie for an upcoming race outfit for our daughter.
#ADifferentGivingTree
Cute!
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Much better! We really need to buy a branch cutter. What kind do you have?
That was a hand me down from John’s dad since they moved to a place with a maintenance free yard (I don’t think it says anything on it, but it might be 10+ years old).
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Look for a pole pruner that has both a pruning saw and string-pull lopper blades on it so you can cut both large and small branches with the same tool. The 2-in-1 tool costs more than purchasing one that only performs one function, but costs considerably less than purchase two separate, single-function pole pruners. My only problem with a pole saw is it’s difficult to put force on the blade while you hold the base of a log pole, so it takes much longer to cut through a branch. Bonus tip: if you have fruit trees, you can purchase a basket or mesh bag attachment so when you clip the fruit it falls into the basket or bag rather than falling all the way to the ground with heavy bruising.
We actually have the same cutter or one very similar. We picked it up last year at Lowes for short money and it’s been worth every penny!
Great tip!
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We just got our trees trimmed (we have about 30 trees the size of the one you tackled!) after the advice of a realtor and I cannot believe the difference pruned trees make! We had a vine on one of ours too that we had removed and the tree looks so much happier and prouder without the vine-induced suffocation. We had good timing too- a huge storm just blew through last night and now the cleanup is minimal compared to what we used to deal with after a storm. Did the branches cause any damage to your railing when they were that close?
They definitely encouraged lots of gunk to build up on the railing (and bird do and all that other gross stuff that happens in thick trees) so we did some hose spraying and actually want to rent a power washer to finish the job.
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I thought it looked pretty before and gave you some extra privacy! That said, I can totally understand why you would want to cut it. Berries & leaves everywhere can be quite a nuisance to a deck. Haha. Love the jumanji reference!
Holy Crap that made a huge difference! I honestly didn’t even realize that that was what the back of the house looked like. You guys really do have an awesome piece of land. And I’m jealous of your grass. We’re trying to figure out how to do the whole…yard thing with three dogs. Joys of home ownership. Amirite? ;)
Oh yeah, we can relate to that. Our yards usually look like jungles for the first 2 years or so… haha!
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Ha – I never noticed this before! Mine is an article called 7 International Bank Robbers Who Lived Happily Ever After
Oh my gosh, favorite random thread ever. Who knew?!
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Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that I think your “like a post” section has a link to external sites… Spammy type sites.
Thanks for the tip Meaghan! That’s actually the way that plug-in has always worked (in order to serve 4 of our posts it shares 1 external one) but it should be home related. The one it’s showing me right now is about bedroom organization. Is that the one you see too? I wonder if they’re targeted like google (meaning other people might see different ones).
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The one I saw was how to avoid a heart attack :)
Weird! I think I can submit a query about that since it’s not house focused. Thanks for the tip Meaghan!
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Mine says “the food that fights three”…looks health related and I don’t think its google related. Doesn’t bother me, but just thought you might want to know!
Weird! So I guess they serve different ads to different people (could be location based or something). Who knew?! I always thought you guys saw what we saw!
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house related one. Mine today is about dogs.
That’s so funny! Hmm, you like dogs right KathyG? I wonder if it’s a targeted ad (so it uses your search history to inform what shows up).
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Mine is about an 86 y/o grandma that can still do gymnastics. Random!
Hahaha! Man, why don’t I get that one?!
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I’ve got “Inappropriate Kid Drawings” with a thumbnail of smiling child with “I love Satan” written next to a drawing of Santa. :) How do they come up with these?
Holy cow really? Are you guys just messing with me? It’s crazy how many different ones there are!
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Mine is about “Minimizing the Stress of Euthanasia”… I don’t think it is a targeted thing!
I have no idea! Maybe they just rotate?!
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Haha- this thread cracked me up, and made me look too. Mine is about ‘top 10 horrible toddler behaviors’! I am scared to click that link and see how many my twins have :)
Mines about how to eat a banana while standing on one foot with your eyes closed.
jk. i didnt even click on it. ;)
Hahah!
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Usually mine are house related. However, today mine is “Five Ways the Chinese Treat Colitis”. Hahahaha, I can’t quit laughing. I actually asked my fiance if hes been having “problems”, to see if it was something he had googled. LOL!!!
SO WEIRD! It’s crazy to me how many are medically related… haha!
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My external link reads ‘Steve Martin Becomes First-Time Dad at Age 67’
Mine is “The ultimate herb for your heart’s health: PART 3” don’t know what happened to the first two parts….and it’s Hawthorn, in case you we’re curious ;)
Mine is How a Silkworm Could Improve Fat Metabolism… so random!
Our neighbors grow wisteria unchecked… it’s already eaten their trees, and I spend all summer death-matching it in mine… I’ve made subtle suggestions, but it’s a weird thing, to instruct your neighbors on tree-care.
Agreed. I am new on the street and this is my first spring/summer here. I will be finding a way to address the poison ivy that runs rampant through bushes in the neighbors yard that joins with mine that I saw when viewing the house. Or… just treat it anyway, no one likes poison ivy.
I’ve got a population of weird bushes I need to work on, that and a bunch of day lilies that are trying to take over our front beds that I’m taking care of this weekend!
Good luck Ashley!
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What type of vine was that? We had one similar on a pine tree and could never figure out what it was. Removing it sure made a difference. Good job!
I’m TERRIBLE at plant stuff, but it seemed related to a holly to me. It had the very same spikey leaves that kill your feet if you step on them, and it got red berries on it during the winter.
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I’m pretty sure it was winter creeper, or euonymus fortunei.
Yes! That rings a bell!
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There will be lots of that going on at our house. My husband just bought a new chainsaw haha. I think that now makes two chainsaws and a couple backup/part saws. #thatshowmainersroll
Haha, sounds like a party!
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Haha chainsaw party. Sounds like something you’d read in a Darwin Award.
Chainsaw party! I’ll bring the earplugs.
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I live in Seattle, and there’s a Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving event every fall (that’s part of an Oktoberfest… not sure if that’s the best pairing). So yeah, chainsaw parties exist. ;)
Man that sounds fun.
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I am thoroughly impressed at how much of a nuisance a vine can be! I sympathize with your hard work, but don’t have any yard to actually “do” here… Although I definitely miss it. Paris is just starting to get leaves everywhere though- we are so excited!!!
WOW!!! That vine was huge!
It looks so much cleaner now and I bet it’ll help a lot on the upkeep of your porch.
We have a tree in the front yard that we were really worried about last year. I had an Arborist come out and check on it and the guy told me it was toast. But I didn’t agree with him one bit. Wouldn’t you know, it has BURST forth with all sorts of life and cheeriness this year. It has a section in the middle that is definitely dead, but with some pruning and TLC I think it’ll be ok! Where do you get those long branch cutters anyhow??
P.S. We’re trying to decide…DIY the pruning or hire someone??…decisions, decisions….
Those were actually hand me downs from John’s dad! Love them, but they don’t have any logo on them and are probably 10+ years old.
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We’ve had a couple of quotes from Arborists as we have about 7 huge Bay tress leaning towards our house. The bad news is the quotes (if we removed them all) are around $25,000. The good news is we remove those that concern us the most we’ll have more sunlight and a better view of San Francisco Bay. Unfortunately, it’s not something we can do ourselves, ya gotta know when to leave it to the professionals. Can you tree me, Sherry & John ;-)
Haha! Sounds like a job for someone a lot more qualified!
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Sweet hat, John!
Thanks Mara.
-John
You had me at orange helmet.
Haha!
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For some reason, I am beyond grossed out by the two vines crawling up the base of the tree. It reminds me of leeches, I guess? I don’t know, but it makes me shudder. I’m fine with snakes, rodents, etc. but weird “growths” really get me!
Leeches is a perfect description! I called them giant slugs. They were serious about BEING ON that tree. Haha.
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OMG me too! That’s all I was thinking while looking at it – totally gave me the heebie jeebies lol!
We need to do this exact thing! We cut a big chunk of the vine and have been waiting for it to miraculously come off the tree, with no luck. Looks like we need to bust out the shears and cut off those limbs!
You guys are the best ! And you’re both so funny! I’m so glad I discovered your blog!
Bisous de France!
Iris
Thanks so much Iris! You’re so sweet.
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Wow, your patio looks so open now! You guys really showed that vine who’s boss :)
Wow! That makes a big difference. And it hopefully saves the life of your tree too! Well done!
Wow that really cleaned things up a bunch!!
Is that your back deck/patio that you added the paver patio too? I noticed the brick trim on the first level from stepping out from your sunroom. I think I always thought that was a wood deck but is it a raised concrete or other stone with wood steps? Hoping to add a deck/patio in our backyard so extra curious.
Yes, it’s a two tier patio now that we added the paver one down below. So the upper deck has always been here and has wooden steps but a composite top (looks like a bunch of pebbles pushed into concrete).
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Hey Sherry , I don’t want to hijack your comment thread so please don’t approve this comment but I thought it would be the quickest way to let you know that there’s a relatively risky ad popping up in the top right ad spot of your site. It’s for Me Undies. I’d want to know if it was my site ;)
Maria
That dang ad! Thanks for the tip Maria. We’ve requested that it be blocked three times in the past three days, so we have no idea how the heck it’s still coming through. Off to put in another query!
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Looks so much better. We actually had to cut down a water maple tree in our front yard last weekend. My hubby tried to just prune it but it had been hit by lightening, we discovered, and was going to die eventually anyways. The bark had started falling off. So it had to come down but we are going to miss the shade it provided this summer!
Hi, I was wondering about what kind of vine it was too. I would love to be out gardening and pruning, but here in Denver we had just less than a foot of snow the last few days. Uggghhhh.
Aw man, stay warm!
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I’ve saved a few neighbor’s trees from death by cutting ivy vines and I’ll get out the old grass and weed killer if I see any ivy springing up. Glad the city and Henrico have remove the ivy days from local parks.
This is one of the most satisfying before and after posts I’ve ever seen. Invasive plant life FREAKS ME OUT.
Haha, thanks Kara!
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Love the new look! Our neighbors just cut down 3 huge maple trees and I keep having to do a double take because I can see new things I’ve never been able to before. Like, “hey- honey- did you know the other neighbors had a garage in the back of their house??” Type stuff lol
Haha!
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Previous owners of our house were an elderly couple (seriously in their mid 90’s!) who let their landscaping completely turn into a jungle. English Ivy EVERYWHERE (up tress,intertwined throughout the chain-link fence) it’s been a nightmare to dig up! We used your tips to cut the base of the vines last fall and are now going through the process of pulling all of the dead vines off of the trees and untangling the mess from the fence! Oh and after digging up a good chuck of the ivy from the yard we found what appears to have once been a nice little stone patio! It’s amazing what ivy and vines cover up! Lord only knows what we’ll find when we finish digging up the 5′ deep or so of dead “weed” trees and various other plant life…
WOW…. that was some huge vine!! Looks great.
You might want to finish the job by applying systemic weed/brush killer to cut end–you should make a fresh cut before applying. Roundup is pretty safe–some people use salt, etc. I’ve no idea if alternative methods work.
Thanks Peggy!
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Roundup is not safe- please google roundup safety and you’ll see. Just another myth/ lie from Monsanto
Just be sure to wash your hands with dish soap! When those vines are furry-like, they’re often large poison ivy vines instead of grape vines.
Looks great! You guys are good at everything. :-)
You can find 16′ fiberglass tree trimmers at Lowe’s and Home Depot, mine works great!
Wow that vine is insane. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like that. Good job on the removal looks awesome!
xo Quinn
Quinn Cooper Style
Love the hard hat! Safety 1st!
Gotta protect that beautiful mind. haha!
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Looks great! We have been in a tug of war with the yard- it’s hard to do the cutting back we need to do without stripping the place bare! We have to plant and wait first so that it doesn’t look empty as a concrete box. Such a difficult balance!
That looks so much better! We planted or first flower bulbs last fall and they finally came up. It’s so fun to have pretty stuff in the yard! We are working on another project and hoping to build a deck soon because it would be so nice to have a deck in our backyard!
http://emilyandtylerglover.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/weekend-wrap-up-man-weekend/
Well hello house! Well done! It now looks so refreshingly breezy back there. For the last 2 weekends we have finally tackled the front yard situation. Husband on roof with wife yelling “Don’t fall, the life insurance check is still in the mail!” – check! Kids playing with dirt, rocks, and water while yelling “We’re making experiences and life is good!” (true story) – check! Me stalking nearly every nursery in town along with Google to find the perfect plants to put in the ground? Yes I did! And now we are just waiting for the things to take shape…
My best, Lynn
*Now that the vine is gone and I see you are a little more exposed to the neighbors is that a big deal to you guys or is it more like “Howdy neighbor! Why yes this is omelettes for breakfast, pull up a chair.”?
That house you see waaay in the distance is actually on the opposite side of a street beyond ours (hard to explain, but it’s on a different block). So since we can barely make out the shape of the house (it’s probably around 300 feet away) we’re confident no one can see us eating or anything – not that we’d do naked breakfast out there or anything, haha!
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What an improvement! Isn’t it silly what we live with?
So we have had this vine that’s been peaking out the top of our fence in the backyard from the other side. Our backyard backs up to a rental property and for the last few years we didn’t really do anything. But by the end of last summer the vine was hanging over the fence and into our bushes, not to mention that the vine is now damaging our fence boards. So last weekend the husband went to trim back the bushes and then went around to the back and attacked the root. Turns out, it was something poisonous. Poor husband got the worst poison ivy I’ve ever seen… as well as our emergency doctor sister-in-law.
Oh no! Hope he’s ok. I’m so allergic to that stuff, so that scares the heck out of me.
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HOLY SMOKES! What a difference!!!
Just this morning, our preschool dropoff was completely delayed because a crane was removing a tree at the school that was killed by this same vine. the tree was 100+ years old, and it was a real shame. they killed the vine last year, but it was too late. you have probably saved your tree!
Oh no!!! That’s so sad. So glad we got that bear off of our oak :)
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Good job! My husband wrangled with some azaleas last year and plans to get into a fight with a holly tree that is very tall. (He despises it. It doesn’t really bother me!)
Ooh those have spiky leaves like the vine! Tell him to cover up any skin that might get scraped by ’em! We learned the hard way!
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I remember when you guys tried to cut that thing off last year and I wondered if it would work :-) Random question- do you guys use any sort of grass feed? We’re prepping our house for sale and trying to get the lawn to look lush. Thanks!
We don’t but we do like to reseed the grass (just overseeding, which involves a lot less seed and prep) each spring and fall. It seems to be a natural way to keep the grass green and healthy (which seems to crowd out the weeds – and then we just pull the remaining ones by hand).
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Love John’s hard-hat. “please don’t let this hit me in the head…please don’t let this hit me in the head.”
Hahah! That was seriously the mantra.
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I don’t recognize this part of your house at all. I had to go back three times because I was convinced you were talking about someone else’s house. I had no idea you had this separate upper deck/brick patio area and I’ve never seen a room with such high ceilings and angular windows — wait. This is the exterior of the very strange wall you talked about in your sunroom, isn’t it?
Just a small tip in case you ever have to get English ivy out of a tree. Cut it off at the base and let it die like you did with this vine. You can pull it out of the tree when it dries up, but don’t pull too hard. The tiny rootlets grip the tiny crevices in bark, then they dry up and lock themselves in there, so if you pull on them, you’ll pull off the bark. Basically, you’d be pretty much stuck with those fuzzy, curly plant bits until they decide to fall off. They can even pull out mortar! I don’t know if this will ever be relevant for you, but I thought I’d pass it along so you don’t have to learn it the hard way, too.
Yes! This is the upper patio that is outside of the sunroom (it’s also outside the slider in the living room, they each lead out to that upper landing). It’s so funny how the side/back of our house looks so different than the front!
And as for the English ivy tip, thanks! I never knew that!
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