Traditionally, plant societies have long been considered to be organizations made up of people who are "nuts" about one group of plants. They are thought to be somewhat focused, often biased about their particular plant, have tunnel vision and generally over the age of 60. All are true of the American Ivy Society but there are some other things that I would like you to know.

All AIS members love gardening and plants in general. Yes, we are ivy nuts, some more nutty than others, but we all enjoy other plants along with our ivy. We are a very active group, always seeking new ways to introduce ivy to our fellow plant lovers. Since we have more than 500 different cultivars of English Ivy alone, we are sure that there is an ivy for everyone.

Our members range in ages from 13 to multiple celebrations of 59. We are always looking for ways to get kids interested in gardening. Ivy is very user friendly and children like it because it grows fast and does neat things like twist, turn and climb. AIS makes every effort to work with school programs and public gardens' educational programs for kids.

AIS has worked closely with college students and their research projects. We have assisted students working on short papers and experiments, Master Theses, and Doctoral Degrees. Ivy has proven to be a great subject for all types of research for cleaner air to a possible ingredient for use as a natural pesticide.

Our organization has much to offer to all kinds of plant people. We are presently running two different testing programs with commercial members, institutional members and general members. We are happy to share information from these programs with everyone.

One program focuses on commercial growers testing ivies in greenhouse growing conditions looking for the best ivies for baskets, pots, topiary and other commercial projects. The latest program is in cooperation with public gardens across the country, testing for all types of outdoor hardiness from cold tolerance in Montana to heat tolerance in Texas. We encourage our members to take part in testing ivies in their own gardens.

We offer 4 publications per year, -- 3 newsletters, Between the Vines, and one Ivy Journal. Our newsletters offer information on ivy, topiary, and what is going on in AIS. Our Journal focuses on scientific information on ivy but each issue is well balanced with information for everyone from the beginner to the consummate enthusiast. Our editor is a well-accomplished photographer and art director from New York City and under the age of 50! Our publications are up to date and appeal to everyone.

The annual meetings of the American Ivy Society are scheduled in a different part of the country each year. The meetings are planned to include educational programs, garden tours, sight-seeing, great food and best of all -- good fellowship. All of this is done at the lowest possible cost to our members. Often we have the best tours at far less expense than other garden excursions. Why don't you join us? See home page for this year's trip.

AIS offers several other benefits to members including ivy identification, book sales, help finding ivies in the trade, and a free ivy each year. We are excited about this opportunity to connect with the entire world and share more information with others about our favorite subject -- Ivy. Welcome to our site and we encourage you to join our friendly group.