Between A Rock and Some Poison Ivy

 Ever been between a rock and a hard place?

That’s where we thought we were.

We had the huge cedar tree that was a great wind block to the Northwest of our house, but it was a terrible eye sore. Besides that, it used to be 15 foot taller and wrapped up in the electricity line that brings power to our house. Not good.

So Ben and I got out our chain saw and let ‘er rip.

An hour later, I was feeling better about myself.

Funny how that works for women isn’t it?

We feel like our homes and gardens are an extension of us, so we want them to be a reflection of us. (Guys–this is one of those women secrets you need to know. Not understand. But understand. Life will go better for you. So when you write the check for rock, mulch, plants, flowers, more flowers, fertilizer, grasses, up-lights, back lights, solar lights, more flowers…well you get the idea. It’s just like buying your wife a closet full of clothes. Gals can I get an Amen? In fact, I may well save your marriage.)

After that piece of acne was gone. We discovered we had bigger trouble.

Poison ivy.

Ben is very allergic to that nasty stuff. So I sprayed it with weedkiller, guaranteed to kill your deck.

Nothing happened.

So I sprayed it again.

Nothing.

When all else fails…what do you do? Google it. So I googled it. This is what I learned…

It’s called poison ivy when it’s a plant. When it grows up and starts vining, it’s called poison oak. You can spray it with special spray, but it’s still poisonous. You can put landscaping paper/plastic over it, but it’s still poisonous. You can pull it up by the roots (while wearing long protective clothing) and that will kill it. But, keep in mind, the dirt will still have the dangerous oils in it until it decomposes. Oh, and don’t burn the vines…if you inhale any smoke, you can get poison ivy in your lungs and that will put you in the hospital.

I said all that to say. Be darn careful, that stuff is evil, a spawn of hell.

After an hour of weeding, we had a wheelbarrow FULL of it. (Did I mention I love Ben? Even though he has another woman. He risked the fact– shots could be in his future to protect his family from this hellish plant. What a guy!)

We then scraped the top layer of cedar shed and dirt and dumped it too. It was like an acid peel for my face. My face still looks bad, but it will get better.

Now what? I got a big arse rock and a stump. Do I plant it back to grass and just mow it slick. Or. Do I make a kidney shaped island with lots of shurbs, grasses, flowers, a bench, trellis with a nice vine and lights–planting the rest to grass. (When Ben heard this idea he said, “Why would you put a bench out there? We never sit out there.) What can I say…he’s a work in progress…just like me.

What do I do? I need a plan. Do you have any ideas?

Simply,

Sis

Tags: getting rid of poison ivy, landscaping, landscaping help, landscaping ideas, lawn and garden, poison ivy, problem area in landscaping