Hi there, I would be careful with that ivy if I were you it will take off and climb to the top of your garage in no time, possibly causing damage to the brick work.

I would remove the ivy as well - it's a nuisance and will cause lots of problems to masonry. I think it's a thug and should be treated as a weed or kept restrained in a pot!!

We have had an ivy, clemtis and honeysuckle growing up trelising by the house. To begin with the clematis went wild, grew very rapidly. Over the past year or so the ivy has now grown a lot more. Unfortuntly the clematis is no more. Could be the cold winter that killed it. However, as the others say, ivy on a wall could cause structural issues. If you leave it you will need to keep an eye on it and make sure its not digging into the building too much. We have to keep stopping ours from getting in the neighbours flashing or the air vent in the kitchen lol.