I purchased a foreclosed home in the Atlanta area a few months ago and I've been working hard on improving the yard and landscaping. There is a hill in the back yard which slopes towards the house and the previous owners planted a bunch of ivy on the hill (see picture below). The ivy doesn't seem to be spreading all that much or thickening up. I've read that ivy does best in shaded areas yet this gets a lot of sun (the hill faces north). Is there anything I can do to improve the looks of the ivy? Did they choose the wrong type of ground-cover for this type of hill?

It is not a desirable ground cover. The denseness of the foliage allows small mammals to live there (like mice and snakes) and also holds sufficient moisture to harbor mosquitoes.

As a fellow Atlantan I would encourage you to rethink keeping this around.

I've been successful establishing a big flower garden on a slope like yours. Would be happy for you to come see what can be done and get some perennial baby plants if you like them.

Rosie, in Sugar Hill

So what is the best way to get rid of ivy? I would prefer to not use chemicals for fear of them running down into my lawn or the neighbors yard. Seems like digging it up would be a real pain but I could try in the fall when it's not so hot.

Any other ideas for good ground cover type plants that do well in sun and wouldn't require a lot of maintenance?

Have a large slope in full sun, similar to yours. It's planted with a big variety of plants, including a Knock Out. One of the ground covers I've used is Rubus - creeping raspberry, planted on about 3' centers. It's carefree except for an occasional weed popping up through it. And had a great crop of raspberries in June/July. You only need 4" pots as starters - grows fast.

HTH, Rosie, Sugar Hill

It is a big undertaking, but you'll be surprised at how fast it goes. You will need a shovel, but you don't need to dig out the whole thing. I suggest getting your gloves, find a good strong vine, and pull up- as in vertical. Try not to break the vine, but follow it, follow it follow it to the base, then give a little shovel to it to try and get the roots. The trick is to get the vines as long as you can. They may come back a little, but if you're a gardener, its just like vigilant weeding when it's coming back.

I also tried a couple of kinds of brush killer, but it was largely ineffective because of the thick, waxy leaves and resilient nature. The poison did more of a number on other plants around it. I regret that (though, I don't regret using it on the privet and poison ivy!).

Get rid of it get rid of it get rid of it. Lots of other ground cover options. Here's another to add to previous suggestions: Royal Alyssium

Atl_Brownthumb - Thanks for the encouragement. It's nice to see that someone else has done this before and was able to take control of their yard. I'm considering the wild/creeping raspberry because my parents planted this on a hill in their backyard and they have been happy with it. I'll look into the Royal Alyssium too. Thanks again.

Remember, much easier to get the ivy out if you weed whack the heck out of it. Then can visualize the stems much easier.

Rosie