TheMondayGarden.com

Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
August 24, 2003, Issue 74

NOTE: The text of this article has been replaced by
Issue 203, April 23, 2006 but I've left the pictures . I hope you also enjoy the new article.

Sue

picutre: pioson ivy in a privet hedge

picture: This house cat (my Michael) is clearly thriving due to human intervention. Like poison ivy, he belongs to an enhanced species.

picture: poison ivy still small enough to pull up at the base of a shag-bark hickory

picture: Poison ivy enjoying the view at Stamford's Cove Island

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Photo credits: Sue Sweeney
© Sue Sweeney 2003

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What the readers said:

Didn't know it turned red in the mid-fall so I'll be watchful. And when I find it, I'll "terminate" per your guidelines. Nothing more annoying than poison ivy between the fingers. Jack (CT)

When I lived in the country, my neighbor was burning some brush [with] some poison ivy. I inhaled some of the smoke (just by going out of doors, not standing by the fire!). I had a skin contact poison ivy rash where the bottom of my jeans touched my ankle/foot. The doctor told me "if you want to save the foot, this is what you'll have to do" and proceeded to give me prescription meds
… And I had to stay in bed... He was NOT kidding .. you might want to tell your readers that every time you have a P.I. breakout, it INCREASES your sensitivity for the next time, making it all the more important to avoid this stuff. Diane (LA)

Very interesting about "enhanced". Bruce (CT)

Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
June 27, 2004, Issue 118

NOTE: The text of this article has been replaced by
Issue 203, April 23, 2006 but I've left the pictures . I hope you also enjoy the new article.

Sue

Picture: Poison ivy on a stone wall, Bedford Street, Hoyt Street Alley, Stamford CT June 2004

Picture: Poison ivy with seedlings, Hoyt Street Alley, Stamford CT June 2004; the heart-shaped babies are porcelainberry

Picture: jewelweed (suspected to have urushiol-blocking compounds and is a known anti-inflammatory), Bedford Street, Stamford CT June 2004

picture: poison ivy mixed with woodbine, a native vine with FIVE LEAVES

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Photo credits: Sue Sweeney
© Sue Sweeney 2005

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Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
October 30, 2005, Issue 183

By now, I hope that all readers of The Monday Garden can recognize the summer form of poison ivy but can you also recognize the equally dangerous fall version, especially after the poison ivy leaves have fallen and mingled with the harmless oaks and maples? Never jump in a leaf pile or burn leaves (not a good idea anyway) without first checking for poison ivy. The pictures tell the story.

Picture: poison (poison oak –looking variety) on a wall, 5th Street, Stamford ct Oct 2005.

Pictures: summer and fall view of poison ivy on a Norway maple trunk, 5th Street, Stamford CT summer and fall, 2005. Note the leaves on the right have the notched “oak leaf” form but those on the left on round-edged. View same tree in winter

Pictures (above and below): 6 samples of fall poison ivy leaves, Stamford CT Oct 2005. Note the wide range of color from yellow-brown, to pure yellow, to orange, red, and burgundy.

Picture: poison ivy leaves climbing a tree in the swamp at the Bartlett Arboretum and along path at the Stamford Nature Center, both pictures: Stamford CT Oct 2005

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Photo credits: Sue Sweeney

© Sue Sweeney 2005

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TheMondayGarden.com, Eco-gardening at its best

April 23, 2006, Issue 203

AVOIDING POISON IVY

When I'm hiking with a group through the Stamford's uncultivated areas, I try to remember to point out the poison ivy. Having grown up in the country, I forget that many people haven't learned to recognize this serious peril of the
urban wilderness, and their own backyards. Inevitably, I hear someone say that they don’t get poison ivy. Not so fast; my own grandmother ended up in the hospital by believing that her life-long immunity to poison ivy had carried over into her senior years.

PICTURE: Poison ivy thriving in a privet hedge along a sidewalk on Morgan Street, Stamford CT May 2005

POISON IVY'S EFFECT ON HUMANS
According to the Food and Drug Administration, 50 to 70 % of us are allergic to poison ivy and most of the rest will become allergic if exposed. The American Academy of Dermatologists estimates that, annually, between 10 and 50 millions Americans have an unfortunate encounter with poison ivy. The usual allergic response is an annoying rash. Extreme cases, though, can result in hospitalization, and serious, long-term health issues.