Yes....I have poison ivy in my garden. Woe is me. This morning I rose and donned clothing that I wouldn't mind throwing away: long socks, long pants, a long-sleeved mock turtleneck, and an old bandanna. I carried another bandanna with me to cover the lower half of my face, in case the ivy juice became airborne as I pulled out the roots. I wore two pairs of latex gloves.
At first I thought this was going to be easy. I should have known better. The root making its way across the ground was roughly half the diameter of my little finger. I should have watered before I weeded. I might possibly have gotten ALL of the root that way. As it it, I think I left some small suckers. The poison ivy had twined itself around and through a pod of Dutch Iris that I've been meaning to replant.
I got most of the root, except any that grew through the roots of the iris. After they've bloomed, I'll dig up the iris and re-plant them, checking for poison ivy roots as I separate them. For some time to come, I'll have to be careful when kneeling and planting and cleaning up in that area. The irritant (urushiol) from the poison ivy is likely to taint the ground and plants for some time. Luckily, I've gotten into the habit of wearing gloves when I work in the gardens, but I'll still need to be careful.
I had a great morning. I got two thirds of the outer bed at the front of the house cleared out of old plants. I was able to see what made it through the winter and what needs to be replaced. The Russian sage is coming back nicely, and I pruned away the dead wood. The two French lavenders didn't make it, but I was surprised to see that there were starts of Homestead Purple Verbena, which is usually an annual in this area.
I hope to do a little early morning gardening before we go to brunch for Mother's Day. And, there may be time in the afternoon, too. It's time to put plants into the ground! YEA!!!
Comments (8)
Since you were up close and personal with Poison Ivy today would you mind looking at some pictures that I took trying to identify what I think is possibly the nasty stuff? I have a 5 year old and as far as I know she nor I have ever come in contact with it but I want to know what this stuff in our front yard is... we have 3 acres of land and most of it is wooded... I have been searching on line but am having trouble saying for sure what I have. We also found a mommy turtle and I am trying to ID her. I know it was a girl because she had just laid eggs... THANKS for any help!
Posted by Andrea | May 12, 2007 8:46 PM
Posted on May 12, 2007 20:46
My first visit to your site and I certainly enjoyed it. Love the pics of your garden!
Posted by martie | May 13, 2007 5:36 AM
Posted on May 13, 2007 05:36
Andrea, thanks for visiting. I'll do a blog entry with links that might help you. You described our home....three acres with trees. You'll find poison ivy at the edge of the woods, where it gets some sunlight, but not full sunlight. The infestation in my garden is a foot from the house, so it gets half a day of sunlight. Good luck identifying it. If you're at all allergic, WEAR GLOVES!
Posted by buffy | May 13, 2007 6:14 PM
Posted on May 13, 2007 18:14
Welcome, Martie. I'm learning to use a digital camera, and add pictures to my story. Too bad I didn't think to take pictures of the poison ivy before I ripped it out!
Posted by buffy | May 13, 2007 6:15 PM
Posted on May 13, 2007 18:15
Your garden is three acres! Blimey, that put my little garden (approx 50 ft by 60 ft) in the shade. Seriously, I've read about poison ivy and it sounds horrible. Please take care.
Posted by Adele | May 14, 2007 3:06 AM
Posted on May 14, 2007 03:06
OH NO, ADELE! I'm so sorry! I'll have to go back and check to see just what I wrote. I meant to tell Andrea, that like her, we have three wooded acres. NOT ALL OF THAT IS GARDEN! Gawd....be still my scared-to-death heart. The thought of having THREE ACRES of garden is horrifying! I have four major gardens and two more areas that have roses or daffodills and iris. I've let two more gardens go wild because I can't keep up with it all. I doubt there is more than half an acre in gardens, and I'm looking for ways to cut back on that.
Posted by buffy | May 14, 2007 2:18 PM
Posted on May 14, 2007 14:18
Andrea, I just re-read your request. Send the pictures to me at buffsmail2004@yahoo.com and I'll take a look at what you have to see if I can determine if it is poison ivy.
Posted by buffy | May 14, 2007 2:20 PM
Posted on May 14, 2007 14:20
Sorry, I must have misunderstood. I just saw what you said to Andrea above and thought you had a garden of 3 acres. My fault.
Posted by Adele | May 15, 2007 2:01 PM
Posted on May 15, 2007 14:01