Leaves of Three VS. Me

No, I am not talking about reading your "tea" leaves. I am talking about the nasty little "leaves of three, let them be", poison ivy leaves.  Many of you have probably already encountered these little devilish leaves at some point in your life. But for those of you who have not, I want to share with you some pictures of the plant so you can learn to avoid it, some advice on what to do if you know you have come in contact and some products that could aid in your relief if you do come into contact with it.

For those of us who have encountered it, we are fully aware of the full effects of its' power.  You see, poison ivy, contains this oil, called Urushiol.  Urushiol is what causes the nonstop itching, blistery rash.  The trick to not coming in contact with it, is to learn to keep on the look out for it.  Poison Ivy is easily spread by birds, because they eat the berries off the plant and conveniently "poop" them out, throughout your yard.  Another important thing to remember is this plant can reseed itself through the berries dropping, being blown by the wind, or one of the fastest ways is by mowing over the plant while its producing berries.

To keep it from growing and spreading in your yard, is learning to detect it early.  Carefully removing it from its' roots (locating the places where it is growing, wearing old clothes that you can throw away afterwards, and keeping your skin covered). If you detect a large growth of poison ivy, i.e., growing up a tree, you should seriously consider calling in the experts (poison ivy horticulturalist, brush removal specialist).  Keep in mind calling such experts and specialists can get costly, most will charge you a consultation fee (usually $100) and then depending on how you decide to treat, it goes up from there.  There are some over the counter herbicide sprays you can use, but if you are like me, you want to keep away from such chemicals that can be harmful to your health and to the environment.  I did find this recipe to make your own "poison ivy killer spray", that is not made of herbicides:



Poison Ivy Vegetation Killer

• 1 cup salt
• 8 drops liquid detergent
• 1 gallon vinegar

Combine the salt and vinegar in a pan and heat to dissolve the salt. Cool the vinegar, add the detergent, and pour some of the liquid into a large spray bottle. Spray the vegetation. (You can also just pour the mixture onto the weeds.) Refill the spray bottle as necessary. Note that this formula will kill all the vegetation, so make sure that you are only spraying the plants you want to kill. If you need to use a lot of this spray, avoid spraying it near wells, as the salt can leach into your water supply. [Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vinegar-for-poison-ivy.html#ixzz2VXkYonMI]

I personally have not tried this more natural spray, but I plan on it.  Keep in mind, whatever method of spray you choose to use, all can be harmful to surrounding plants and vegetation.

Now as for what to do once you have come into contact with poison ivy.  First, if you are aware you have been exposed to it, rinse the affected area with cool water.  I recommend doing this after doing any gardening work, like I said, you never know, the baby sprouts of poison ivy can hide themselves easily under other plants.  Do not use warm water, as this can open the pores of your skin and allow the Urushiol oil to penetrate more.  After you have rinsed the area, follow with a soap wash, and rinse (Burt's Bees Poison Ivy Soap works best).  Any clothing that came into contact with the poison ivy, either throw away, or put straight into the washing machine (and wash and least two times). 

The products that I strongly urge you to purchase and keep stocked in your medicine closet are: Burt's Bees Poison Ivy Soap, All Terrain Poison Ivy/Oak Bar, and Herbs, Etc.'s Ivy Itch Releaf.  As someone who has had my fair share of poison ivy contact, I can attest that these products truly work and provide fast relief (this includes the time that I was even put on a steroid cream...these work better!).  The reason I think two of these products work so well, is because they contain: Jewelweed, a well-known natural remedy to poison ivy/oak and other skin irritations. Herbs, Etc. Ivy Itch Releaf has always been my saving grace, when I have come in contact with poison ivy. (You can find these products direct from their websites, or at most health food stores).

You can also try to find a plant of Jewelweed and keep it in your garden.  After contact with poison ivy, you can take a part of Jewelweed, slice the stem and rub its' oil over the affected area.

Lastly, keep in mind, if you are one of the people who think you are immune to poison ivy, think again.  People's immunities to such things, can change as they age, so do not ever assume you are immune.  Stay safe, and remember the wise old rule, "leaves of three, let them be".

***(All of the photos of poison ivy were taken by me.  The smaller samples were baby sprouts that I discovered recently in my garden boxes.  The larger sample growing up the tree is where the main source lives, near our property.)***

Namaste Mother Earth

Namaste...Mother Earth and thank you! You see I was preparing for Earth Day, as well as, getting ready to plant my yearly vegetable and herb plants, when I discovered this delightful surprise...our Halloween pumpkin has seeded itself.  Now my husband and I discussed whether or not we should divide the plant, but we figured we would let mother nature continue to do her work. If you are not a gardener, or you feel you don't have a green thumb, I urge you today to at least try growing something for Mother Earth.

I know it may seem overwhelming to think of starting your own garden, but you can always start off with a patio planter or small herb garden.  As you know I love cooking, and it is so nice to have your own fresh herbs right at your finger tips. The flavors you get will enhance your food in ways you may never have imagined possible.  Even if you live in the city, you can always have a window box herb garden.


After having a garden that took up a good portion of our backyard for several years, we decided that we wanted boxed, raised beds.  We did this for a few reasons, mainly because we needed the yard as a play area for our son, but also it seemed smarter to have contained areas for specific vegetables and herbs. Lastly I must say that it has made weeding the garden so much easier, so if you are thinking of taking this on, I highly suggest raised beds.

 If vegetables and herbs don't tickle your fancy, then you may want to just add some color along the pathways and borders of your walkways.  Now things to remember for those of you who are newbies...keep in mind before you even pick out flowers what type of sunlight the areas you are planting receive throughout the day. For instance, is there any shade, does the area receive full sun or part sun...these are things you want to keep in mind when picking out what you would like to plant.  I typically pick Impatiens for the edges of my pathways, but that is partly because we are fortunate to have the shade from two large Sycamore trees.  If we did not have that shade, I may be leaning more towards Vincas or Petunias. 

The other thing you want to keep in mind is if you want to plant Annuals or Perennials.  When you go to a garden center or greenhouse they should have it clearly designated so that you can shop in the right area. I recommend planting a little of both.  Perennials usually are a little more costly, but keep in mind they come back.  One more thing to keep in mind is a color scheme. You will find that you are drawn usually to a specific color, you want keep in mind adding a variety of color. 

 Once you have your gardens established, make sure you keep them weeded and watered.  Some people become overwhelmed by keeping their garden weeded, a way to help prevent that is to take 15 minutes a day and work in one area.  I am not always good at keeping up with this, but when I do it enables me to be free of weeding for hours on the weekends.

And don't be afraid to try things...that you may not be familiar with. For example, when I bought my plants this weekend at my local gardening center (Willey Farms, Townsend, Delaware)  Mr. George Hudnet of Soil Builder Earthworm Casting Organic Fertilizer was giving away free samples of earthworm casting, so I will be trying that in my gardens. If you are not sure what earthworm castings are then I suggest you go directly to Willey Farms' Facebook page and check out the link to Mr. Hudnet, it explains it all. (It is pretty awesome how Mother Nature works!)

Again, Mother Earth brought us another surprise in our backyard this year...nestled just above the drain pipe of our garage is bird's nest.  It is so much fun watching the bird swoop into the nest...especially to share this with my son. But it is also a reminder that I must get some reflector streamers for our blackberry, strawberry and blueberry bushes.  Otherwise we may not have any berries left, with the birds swooping all around.

So I hope that this has given you some encouragement to start your own garden as well as some helpful tips.  I hope you take the time to thank Mother Earth for all she provides this day...and remember the good in me sees the good in you..Namaste!