This species has really taken over here, growing everywhere in semi-wooded conditions. I have been pulling a lot of it in my yard the past few weeks. It does actually work well in the kitchen. I made a very nice horseradish like condiment from the roots of this species a few years back, just cleaning them, grinding in the food processor, and mixing with vinegar and salt. The roots didn't have the garlic flavor, just horseradish. I mostly feed it to my poultry.

I also live in Virginia, and was thinking about the British hedge for privacy reasons. I took a roadtrip in the UK several years ago, and my first notice of hedgerows was while driving a one-lane country road in my car rental. The roads were extremely narrow, with little room for mistakes. Initially, I feared accidentally scratching the paint while maintaining the center of the lane. Then, my fear turned into terror when the hedgerows intermittently vanished in favor of a stone walls. It scared the crap out of me. Needless to say, the hedgerows return was a welcome sight. I know I am writing this well after the first post, but for anyone wanting a look at hedgerow building, you should check out Season 2, Episode 6 of Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime. As for the "Americans are lazy" comment.. Americans rank relatively high as one of hardest working people in the world, especially against most developed countries. I do think Americans wouldn't take the time to maintain a hedge, but I believe it is more about 'how' they prioritize their time. Even I have berated my brother on the amount of time he spends on his yard. I have commented to him that he spends more time on maintaining it, rather than enjoying it.

The terracing of the slope certainly predates the gardens by centuries. It is the traditional way of growing olives, vines, citrus etc. on steep rocky hillsides in the South of France (ie it is a French landscape, not 'European') I don't think the owners are actively cultivating the terraces any longer as far as I can see. The kitchen garden is pleasant but looks like an ordinary vegetable garden divided into rectangular areas. I don't see anything unusual there. You could easily do that in your garden. Hedges in the UK form boundaries to some fields and some gardens. Many are a result of the enclosures of the 18th century when much common land was taken over by landowners and divided into fields. In some areas where stone is plentiful and the climate is harsher stone walls are used. There is no mystery to hedges. You just plant your plants in a row and keep it cut. Google 'hedge laying' to find out how this was done traditionally. Nowadays farmers use flails attached to tractors and gardeners use shears or powered hedge cutters. Your 'Edwardian' family would not have planted those hedges themselves - they would have been there for at least 2 hundred years by the turn of the 19th century. A well maintained field hedge will live pretty much indefinitely. When I fly in to the UK I can always tell when I am over England by the patchwork of hedges and irregular fields on looking down. It's quite different from the appearance of any other European country. I notice that the owners are selling up and returning to the UK. Maybe their vision of the good life didn't quite work out after all.

The small-leaved "Needlepoint" English ivies that are usually sold in the house plant section of stores, are the ones with the smallest leaves. But I don't think anyone understands your title: using ivy as a hedge ...? It's not a plant that can make a hege, but growing on something else it could appear like a hedge.