Guessing it depends on where you are located on earth.

Reiterating the above - where you are will depend on its speed of growth. Where I live, I swear you can see ivy tendrils elongate by the day. I certainly need to prune back the wall of ivy my neighbors planted on their bank every few weeks in summer.

And where you are located will have a bearing on the feasibility of even considering English ivy for inclusion in your garden. In wide swatches of the country, it is considered an invasive species and should be avoided. It also forms a very appealing habitat for rats and other vermin so think twice about this plant choice.

If you have neighbors please reconsider this plant choice. My neighbors english ivy is destroying our shared fence and invading my yard. I have worked for countless hours to eradicate it from my side. I have gotten it off a good part of the fence and just let it all droop back into his yard. Hopefully he will get the hint that it is not welcome. English ivy is a great home for rats as someone mentioned, as well as wasp nests and things like that. Almost impossible to get rid of once established.