Welcome to gardening! It's a hobby (passion) that is wonderful. You are right to start with the ivy. It is a REAL nasty and very difficult to eradicate. When it climbs up something, it gets flowers, then seeds then spreads everywhere, which is what you have got. I'm sure others will have great ideas on how to get rid of it, but I know it is tough. But, while you are working on this, make sure you have somewhere in the garden that is easier, and more fun -- perhaps a little veggie garden?? It would have to be fenced from the deer though. Good luck.

Find your zone with this.

Here is a link that might be useful: WASHINGTON USDA Hardiness Zone Map

Round Up is not as harsh as many think and repeated applications are going to be required to kill ivy which is a noxious weed here.

My DH kills dandelions with a welding torch. Weed n'Feed type fertilizers/herbicides are a lot harsher on the environment and hazardous to people and wildlife/pets than Round Up is. I would not use them though they will work.

Not sure I'd want to expend much of the expensive glyphosate (RoundUP etc.) on ivy.

Check label directions, see if ivy is mentioned - and how to use it for that. With woody weeds, blackberries for instance, there may be a certain time of the year only when spraying of glyphosate is recommended.

It takes some elbow grease but the best way to remove ivy is manually. Because of the very waxy cuticle covering the leaf, it is difficult (often impossible) for standard herbicides to have much of an effect. Typically the recommendation is to cut back the top growth and then paint the herbicide directly on the exposed stems. But that takes repeated applications and time :-)

Blue flowered groundcovers suited for part shade are not all that plentiful. I'd look at some of the creeping campanulas, Veronica 'Georgia Blue', ajuga (bugle weed) or vinca. Or you can use low spreading perennials that can act like a groundcover.......creeping woodland phlox, hardy geraniums, pulmonaria, etc.

Vinca certainly grows well in this area.

Too well.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was able to spend a couple of hours working on the ivy patch, and got about half the vines and some of the roots out. I think the most concerning roots are going to be the ones right up against the house, I think that's where the plantings were started. It's not a huge patch so I think manually will be best for now.

I did discover that there is more terracing in that little area than I thought. The lower part has a retaining wall, but there were THREE very narrow terraces hidden under the ivy instead of a natural slope like I thought we had. So I'm rethinking the straight groundcover and I'm thinking about planting a small perennial garden. I love peonies, I just don't know if that area gets enough sun. If we go with the groundcover option, creeping phlox was one of the ones I was looking at. If it's not too invasive I might use it for the parts that are hard to reach (right above the retaining wall). Once we're farther along with the eradication I want to go to a nursery and look at the options in person.

Anyone have any experience with Squak Mt. Nursery?

Manually is the best way to get rid of ivy. Roundup can work, but I've used Roundup to kill weeds coming up through desired ivy so you can see it will be tricky to kill the ivy. You mow the ivy first, then spray the new growth, repeat process as necessary. No I think you're doing it the right way by digging it out.

Creeping phlox is pretty when in bloom but only then. It can look pretty bad in winter. Vinca is about as noxious as ivy. It does at least bloom, and it doesn't spread as fast, but its roots are a lot more pernicious. If you have shade in this bed, it's probably not sunny enough for peonies.

I'd consider planting low growing shade shrubs here, like azaleas, dwarf rhodies, skimmias, sarcoccocas, leucothoes and hydrangeas. You could plant shade perennials in parts also, like hostas, epimediums, dicentras and pulmonarias.

Vinca, in the right location is fine, but there is no right location for Ivy.

Amen :-) I've grown vinca in various locations without problems. And if growing where not wanted, it is far easier to remove than any ivy I've ever encountered. I'd just avoid planting it adjacent to any natural area but in a controlled garden setting, no worries.

I have just planted iberis, aubretia and alysium (basket of gold) along the top of a brick wall. They are already looking very pretty and even though they are spring flowering, they bloom for months here. Would these plants work in your lowest narrow terrace?

Squak Mt. Nursery is a wonderful place. I've spent a good amount there, of time and money.

I'd say forget ivy, it's hugely invasive in the PNW. Go with periwinkle, Vinca MAJOR for a strong grower, one that is easily contained by edging or mowing. Vinca minor stays low to the ground, while Vinca major stands tall at about 20 inches creating a deep sea of green--and it is evergreen.

Here is a link that might be useful: VINCA MAJOR -- as seen in photos around my property