Zen and the Art of Landscape Maintenance

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”

~ Buddha

Most people today seem to be constantly busy --constantly rushing from one place to another -- constantly texting or talking on cell phones or checking the internet or listening to music.

The big problem with that, for me anyway, is that my mind doesn’t have the chance to just open up and think. I’m assaulting it with so much activity, that there are no empty spaces in there for original thoughts or discovery or enlightenment.

I’ve read quite a few self-help and philosophy books in my life and many of them say that you should learn to meditate--that you should set aside time and clear your mind and not focus on anything, except perhaps your breathing. You should try to attain what is called “zen mind”. I just can’t do it. I never have been able to. Either my mind just continues to race or I fall asleep, trying.

That is, until I step into my garden. There is just something about working outside in nature that gets me more in touch with my inner thoughts. The deeper my hands dig into the soil, the deeper my thoughts seem to become.

One of my favorite activities for deep thought in the garden is hand-pulling weeds. Manually pulling weeds is one of the best forms of organic weed control. It's easy to do, doesn't pollute the environment, and its free!

When I weed, I go out into my yard, sit down on the grass, sometimes on a towel or a short stool, take a deep breath, and using a weeding fork or trowel, I start removing weeds.

When I find a weed, I grab the plant close to the ground, insert my weeding fork or other tool into the soil and gently loosen the roots of the weed and remove the plant.

I’m careful not to dig too deep so I don’t disturb the roots of any nearby plants or bring deeply buried weed seeds up closer to the surface where they could sprout.

As long as the weeds don’t have any seeds on them, I pile them up to toss into my compost pile.

I’m not sure why this process is so relaxing. Perhaps its because it takes enough concentration to keep my mind from wandering anywhere else. I have to focus on finding the weeds and digging down deep enough to get all of the root. And it takes just the right amount of pressure. Pulling too hard will tear the leaves off the plant, leaving the roots behind. But it is also a rather mindless activity, leaving me time to concentrate on the other sights and sounds around me. And then every now and then, out of no where, some really deep thought will pop into my mind.

It makes me wonder if Buddha, the original “father” of Zen thinking, spent much time in a garden.

Back around 500 B.C., Siddhartha Gautama (also known as Buddha) set out to achieve enlightenment. It took him years of struggle, but he finally realized that “everything changes, nothing remains unchanged”. His conclusion from all of this was that the only thing that is really important in life is the joy and pleasure and experience we receive from each passing moment.

Unhappiness, Buddha decided, is a result of attachment to specific things or circumstances which, by their very nature, are impermanent. “By ridding oneself of these attachments, one can be free of suffering.” This is the basis of Zen and somehow, to me, it all seems very relevant to gardening.

We all have certain attachments to ideas about what our gardens should be. And then along comes the weather (freezing temperatures, drought), financial restraints, homeowners regulations and other things that can interfere with our grand schemes – like weeds. What’s a gardener to do?

Perhaps the secret is to adopt some Zen thinking for our gardens. No matter what we plant or how much money and time we spend in the garden, none of it is permanent. Instead of measuring our gardens in the number of beautiful blooms and fruit-bearing plants, perhaps we should measure the success of our gardens in the number of enjoyable moments we spend there.

Certainly there is no pleasure in dousing weeds with broad spectrum herbicides, polluting the planet as you go. But to gently reach down into the earth and pull these stray plants free, listening and watching and inhaling all of the sights and sounds and smells around you….those are the moments that can turn landscape maintenance into landscape magic.

Perhaps that is what Buddha was doing when he said:

“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky” ~ Buddha

Favorite Native Plants ~ Alison Gillespie

For number three in my series of favorite native plants, I asked Alison Gillespie, a local naturalist, writer and avid gardener. Although I have followed Alison's blogs for some time, I was still pleasantly surprised by the eloquence and beauty of her response to my question about natives.

Alison lives and writes about gardening and the environment from her home in Silver Spring, Maryland. She specializes in making small urban lots more livable for both people and wildlife, and sometimes coaches others through the process as well.  

Wintering Over: A few native plants Can Feed Your Soul, and the Birds 

by Alison Gillespie

I really love winter.  People are always surprised to find that out, especially if they know me through gardening circles. 

But I actually think that it’s the gardener in me that needs winter.  I need the break, the slow down, the empty browns and grays that fill those empty lots along Metro’s tracks.  Winter, I think, is the positive image that reflects summer’s intensity. 

Maybe it’s the intensity of my gardening passion that makes me love the break so much; when I read those articles about gardeners who brag of living in warmer climes where they can garden 12 months a year it just makes me tired, not jealous.  There’s also a refreshing sense of having one’s palette cleaned each winter, as the flowers fade away.  Garden mistakes and misfortunes fade from memory like vegetable peelings in the big black bin out back. 

But I also believe that my love of native plants contributes to my contented winter feelings.  If I lived in the city without a garden, I’d probably be miserable.  But this morning, for example, I awoke to cold, clear, sunny skies and found mockingbirds feasting on bright winterberries outside the kitchen window.  The color, the animation of the birds, and the contrast of reds, blues and gray-browns made my heart sing and not a single guilty feeling about weeding entered my brain.  With coffee and a warm robe I was thankful for the garden and enjoyed the view.  This, I thought out loud, is what makes living close-in with a tiny city lot area bearable.

There are lots and lots of native plants that urban gardeners can use to add color to a winter landscape.  Most are so carefree that you can plant them and almost forget about them.  Winterberries (Ilex verticillata), like many shrubs, are one of those natives.   Deciduous cousins to the better known American hollies, they are nondescript during the warmer months, although their small leaves and tiny, fragrant, white blossoms attract loads of bees.  In the fall, the leaves give way to stems spackled with bright red berries which are often imitated by plastic wreath makers at Christmas time;  there are so many berries on each branch that you can’t even see the woody stem underneath.  Then, at the end of winter, the berries prove irresistible to many species of native birds, who arrive to gulp them down one by one and strip those branches bare.

This winter I have also been enjoying the stand of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) which has finally matured in my garden.  I scooped up three of the variety known as Heavy Metal  for a very cheap price from a clearance shelf last winter at the local garden center.  It was a risk – they were hastily planted last December at the back of the garden, shortly before the huge blizzards dumped so much snow upon us all here in DC. 

My risk was rewarded this fall, when I realized how often my eye was drawn to the gentle swaying of the grass stems.  Now the birds have arrived to feast on the seeds, and I realize I’m not the only one whose been watching and waiting. 

The birds are also drawn to my  brown, dried up swamp sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolius).  Don’t let the name scare you – you need not have a swamp to get luscious yellow blossoms from this beautiful native perennial.  It will do just fine in average soil, although I think this plant particularly likes it near downspouts in urban yards.  You also need a lot of vertical space for them, since their stems can sometimes reach eight feet or more in height. 

In our yard, the swamp sunflowers were allowed to stay all winter, even though they turned brown and made enormous arcs across the areas which held our tomatoes last summer, and now the juncos seem to find their seeds yummy.  Many afternoons when the sun weakly surrenders to the cold and dark, the birds are out there in a flocks, hopping around like miniature penguins and beep-beep-beeping to each other in gossipy tones. 

Inside, we watch and make plans for long games of chess and cocoa, and curl up with seed catalogs.  Our palettes have been cleansed, our souls refreshed.  We dream of rolling up sleeves and churning compost, and immerse ourselves in delirious fantasies that this year’s garden will surely be the best ever.  In winter it all still seems very possible.

Thanks, Alison, for sharing such a wonderful post with our readers.

If you would like to read more of Alison's work, you can visit her blogs: Where You Are Planted and Sligo Naturalist

Favorite Native Plants ~ Steve Bates

This is the second in my series of favorite native plants of local gardeners. Today's choices are from Steve Bates, a longtime gardener and journalist and author of The Seeds of Spring: Lessons from the Garden.     Steve grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., where he still lives.  He has won numerous awards for his writing and spent 14 years as a reporter and editor at The Washington Post.  

Steve's Favorite Natives

Virginia has a wide range of native plants, which isn’t surprising, given the fact that it has such a wide variety of garden settings. We have sandy coastal areas, rolling piedmont and some mini-mountains, at least by Colorado standards. But my favorite native plants are the ones that can take some shade, given that I’ve never owned or rented a house with a sunny side yard or back yard big enough for a decent-sized display of annual and perennial plants.

My favorite has to be the Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica). I have a few in my back yard, or at least, I did. Their foliage hasn’t shown up yet, and the foliage doesn’t tend to stick around long after they finish blooming in the spring. So they are kind of a phantom plant. But I trust they are coming.

The buds start out almost pink, and even at peak their shade of blue is not as deep as some of the more prized blue flowers you can buy. Also, they arrive at a time—April—when many other showy plants are at their peak. But when they are in full bloom, naturalized in a wooded area—often near water—they can be breathtaking.

No matter how busy I am, I try every spring to take a walk along Goose Creek, near my home in Loudoun County, and enjoy their short-lived splendor. You can see them in other parks in Northern Virginia, and even from the Washington and Old Dominion trail if you know where to look. But the (well-hidden) hiking path that connects Goose Creek, a scenic waterway in its own right, with the Potomac River is a terrific one. The path begins near the ruins of an old stone bridge, and it slides northward in an easy one-hour hike. If your timing is right, every time you take a turn in the path, you come upon a patch of bluebells even better than the last one. Somehow, I always forget to take my camera….

I’m very fond of mountain laurel and rhododendron, also native Virginia plants. But you sort of drop them in the ground and run, so there’s not much mystery or work involved.

Butterfly weed is a nice, colorful addition to a sunny garden spot. And you can’t go wrong with black-eyed susans. Still, if I could grow or simply enjoy only one native Virginia plant, it would be the bluebell.

Thanks, Steve, for sharing your thoughts.  

To read more about Steve's gardening experiences, look for  The Seeds of Spring, which  follows the challenges, failures, joys and revelations that Steve experiences as he cultivates vegetables, fruit and flowers in a remarkable setting.

The book intertwines practical, “how-to” gardening advice with deep insights as Steve recognizes the richness and simplicity of the outdoor life and the importance of sustainability for individuals and the planet. The Seeds of Spring takes the reader beyond the ordinary, revealing the extraordinary in everyday activities amid the all-too-familiar setting of suburban sprawl.

Favorite Native Plants ~ Nature Friendly Gardener Marlene A. Condon

Native plants are wonderful additions to eco-friendly landscapes for many reasons. But which natives are right for you and your gardens? I decided to poll the local gardening community for some of their favorite native plant species to help you decide.

Today's choices are from Marlene A. Condon. Marlene is a nature writer and the author of The Nature-friendly Garden (see note below). She lives in Crozet, Virginia, where her yard has been showcased on Virginia public television.

Marlene's Favorite Natives 

My most favorite plant is the Trumpet Creeper vine, Campsis radicans. It's one of the most used-by-wildlife native plants I can think of even though it gets bad press as being "invasive". However, all outdoor gardening involves pulling out unwanted plants (I don't like the term "weeds") and in a nature-friendly yard, Trumpet Creeper is not that much of a problem.

That's because so many animals make use of its seeds and thus limit how many are available to germinate the next spring. Mammals such as Gray Squirrels feed on them from early fall to winter and birds such as Tufted Titmice, Dark-eyed Juncos, and American Goldfinches take them in winter. Sphinx Moths feed at the flowers and I have found caterpillars feeding on the seeds inside the pod in the fall (I haven't been able to identify the caterpillars yet). Many species of ants either get sap directly from the plant by chewing open a tiny spot or indirectly by tending aphids and feeding on their honeydew. 

The Sourwood tree (Oxydendron arborium) is another favorite of mine. It's lovely in the spring when it's covered with white flowers that the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and numerous species of insects feed at. In the fall, the leaves on this smallish tree turn a lovely red or maroon and still looks as if it's in bloom with its noticeable seed capsules. From fall into winter, squirrels and juncos feed on the seeds. 

And you can't beat the attractiveness of the Monarda genus of flowers for people and wildlife alike. Lilac-colored Wild Bergamot blooms (Monarda fistulosa) feed butterflies, bees, and numerous other insects. The red-colored Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) is very attractive to hummingbirds. And these plants are one of the few kinds that the White-tailed Deer does not eat.

As a fellow wildlife gardener, I can appreciate all of Marlene's choices. I was mesmerized watching a ruby throated hummingbird push itself almost all the way into trumpet vine flowers one day.

Marlene is offering copies of her book, The Nature-friendly Garden: Creating a Backyard Haven for Plants, Wildlife, and People (Stackpole Books), to readers of the Metro DC Lawn and Garden blog at a special discount. For an inscribed and autographed copy of her book at a special price of $10.00 plus shipping ($4.00) , please visit her web site at www.marlenecondon.com to contact her. Be sure to mention the Metro DC Blog to receive the discount.

Thanks Marlene! And happy gardening.

Gardeners' Sustainable Living Project

The Gardeners' Sustainable Living Project was created by Jan Huston Doble on her beautiful garden blog Thanks for Today as a way for gardeners to share ways that they are actively practicing a greener lifestyle and contributing to protecting our environment.

If you are a gardener, garden blogger, garden writer, or garden merchandiser, Jan invites you to join in and share what you do to help, rather than hinder, nature.

"Just because we are gardeners doesn't mean we're operating 'sustainably'," Jan says. "Let's find ways to garden by taking into account our impact on the environment and whether that has a positive effect on our health and that of Mother Earth."

In Mid March Jan will encourage gardeners to write blog posts and leave comments regarding their sustainability efforts at home and in the garden. She asks you to tell what YOU do, or plan to change, about the way you live and garden.

According to Jan, "you do NOT need to be 'green' to join in--just interested and aware of our environment and willing to look at what you can do to contribute positively and eliminate or reduce unnecessary actions."

For more information about how you can participate, read Jan's post on the Sustainable Living Project.

Does eco-friendly gardening help local wildlife populations?

As a critter lover, I am a big fan of eco-friendly gardening. Eliminating chemicals, protecting the groundwater  and using native plants are all beneficial to local wildlife. When you make these changes, it doesn’t take long to see an increase in the number of butterflies, birds, bees, hummingbirds, dragonflies and other garden visitors in your landscapes.

Participating in wildlife monitoring programs, such as the Great Backyard Bird Count, may  help prove these eco-friendly benefits to others.

Various  programs around the country encourage wildlife lovers  to help monitor local wildlife.  Participants in these counts are called  ‘citizen scientists’, and  their contributions are invaluable in the study of wildlife  populations and migration trends. Some even feel that data from ‘citizen scientists’ is helping researchers to investigate far-reaching questions such as the impacts of West Nile virus, global warming, and acid rain.

These programs are open to anyone with an interest in wildlife. In most cases, the only skill required is the ability to count! They are a great opportunity to get outside with your family and explore the creatures that find their way into your landscape.

Digital cameras are excellent tools for the budding ‘citizen scientist’ or backyard naturalist. Pictures of birds, butterflies and other forms of wildlife can be used in researching a species in books or on the internet.

If you think you find something truly unique, such as a bird or insect that you have never seen before, don’t be reluctant to ask the experts. You never know what discoveries you might find, or what difference you might be making to the environment, right from the comfort of your own backyard.

No matter what sort of wildlife you find interesting, there is probably a monitoring program that will encourage you to study it a little closer. Here are some local and national programs to get you started on your journey to becoming a "citizen scientist":

The Virginia Frog and Toad Calling Survey  is conducted by a group of volunteers from across the Commonwealth who spend three nights a year surveying various wetland habitats for frogs and toads. The survey involves listening and then identifying the various species by their call, and recording the approximate number of individuals.

Loudon Wildlife Conservancy has several wildlife monitoring programs, including stream monitoring, bluebird nestbox monitoring, amphibian monitoring and an annual butterfly count.

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries,  Wildlife Mapping  is an outreach program that allows school children, citizens, community groups, and other city, county and state organizations to collect wildlife-related information that will be available to everyone. The program provides an opportunity for students and volunteers to perform field studies that contribute to the state's biological databases.

 The Great Backyard Bird Count, The Christmas Bird Count and Project FeederWatch are all studies compiled primarily from information provided by individual citizens. These studies, which are joint programs between Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, involve citizens across the country counting birds on specific days and reporting their findings. Once the results are tallied, they are analyzed by scientists and posted online.

North American Butterfly Association – A membership-based not-for-profit organization working to increase public enjoyment and conservation of butterflies, the NABA  conducts an annual butterfly count to provide important information about the geographic distribution and population sizes of various butterfly species.

Monarch Watch – An educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that engages citizen scientists in large-scale research projects.

Monarch Larva Monitoring Program – The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) is a citizen science project involving volunteers from across the United States and Canada in monarch research. It was developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota to collect long-term data on larval monarch populations and milkweed habitat.

Operation RubyThroat– Started by South Carolina resident Bill Hilton Jr, this cross-disciplinary international initiative utilizes citizen scientists to study behavior and distribution of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Wildlife Watch –Participants in Wildlife Watch share sightings of wildlife and plants where they live. National Wildlife Federation and their Wildlife Watch partners collect and review findings so that they can track the behavior and health of wildlife and plant species nationwide.

Journey North: A Global Study of Wildlife Migration and Seasonal Change – Geared primarily towards students from K-12 grade, this organization engages participants to track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, bald eagles, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes — and other birds and mammals; the budding of plants; changing sunlight; and other natural events.

Great Backyard Birdcount Starts Feb 18th

Put out the birdseed and grab your binoculars. The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) starts tomorrow!

Once I started gardening for wildlife, I was quick to go from casual birdwatcher to full-fledged critter loving nature nerd. In fact, right now I have my thrift-store baby monitor turned on and placed outside my window so I can enjoy the sound of the robins on my birdbath.

I also have my bird guide and binoculars ready so that I can start counting birds tomorrow for the 2011 Great Backyard Bird Count.

What is the Great Backyard Bird Count?

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that encourages bird watchers to count their backyard birds and report their findings on-line. This year, the GBBC runs from February 18th – 21st.

Although it may sound silly to count your backyard birds, these counts are very useful in helping scientists learn where birds are across the continent and to see how populations compare with previous years. This helps to determine how things like development, pollution and weather may be affecting various species.

Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts and you can count for as long as you want each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

If you want to participate, here are the quick and easy steps from the GBBC website:  

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count. You can count for longer than that if you wish! Count birds in as many places and on as many days as you like—one day, two days, or all four days. Submit a separate checklist for each new day. You can also submit more than one checklist per day if you count in other locations on that day.  

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time. You may find it helpful to print out your regional bird checklist to get an idea of the kinds of birds you're likely to see in your area in February. You could take note of the highest number of each species you see on this checklist.  

3. When you're finished, enter your results through GBBC's web page. You'll see a button marked "Enter Your Checklists!" on the website home page beginning on the first day of the count. It will remain active until the deadline for data submission on March 1st.

As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore the results from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada. They can also see how this year's numbers compare with those from previous years. Participants may also send in photographs of the birds they see. A selection of images is posted in the online photo gallery.

I always think its fun to go back and read the results of previous counts.

You can search by state. Here are the five highest counted species from 2010 for DC, Maryland and Virginia

DC: American Robin – 737; House Sparrow – 396; European Starling – 317

Maryland: Canada Goose – 38,118; Snow Goose – 20,317; Common Grackle – 18,240

Virginia: Common Grackle – 25,421; Dark-eyed Junco – 20,005; Red-winged Blackbird – 19,446

Or you can search by species

American Robin – 737 in DC; 5,489 in Maryland and 13,311 in Virginia

For more detailed information, visit the GBBC website or download this pdf file of instructions.

Garden Sharing vs Guerrilla Gardening - Give Peas (and Peace) a Chance

I’ve always had a problem with the idea of “guerrilla gardening”. To me, gardening is all about peace and  sharing. We spend peaceful time outside cultivating the soil and we share the beauty and bounty of our gardens with visitors and passersby. There really isn’t anything “guerrilla” about it.

By definition, the word guerilla is all about warfare and overtaking your enemy in subversive ways. I just don’t think it fits with gardening.

My understanding of guerrilla gardening is that gardeners go out and garden on a piece of  land without the owner’s permission. This “gardening” is sometimes in the form of “seed bombs” and other forms of clandestine planting.  The land that is  gardened is usually abandoned or neglected by its legal owner and the guerrilla gardeners take it over to grow plants. Guerrilla gardeners believe they are  reclaiming land from perceived neglect or misuse and giving it new purpose. (If I don't have a clear understanding of guerrilla gardening, I welcome all comments.)

Garden sharing, on the other hand,  is an arrangement which connects those who have the space to garden with those who would like to garden but don’t have the space. It is a win-win situation for both. Apartment dwellers and others without suitable garden space are provided a place to dig,  plant and grow to their hearts content. Property owners reap the benefits of beauty or bounty in their unused garden space. Many times, garden sharing is used for growing food, and the homeowners  receive a portion of the produce that is grown in exchange for the use of his land.

There are numerous garden sharing programs on the internet including Yardsharing in Portland, Oregon, Yards To Gardens in Minneapolis and Urban Garden Share in Seattle.

In the DC area there is Sharing Backyards DC.

Sharing Backyards DC is the local segment of Sharing Backyards, a project that was originally started in Canada in 2007 to  encourage urban gardening. It is a do-it-yourself, online matchmaking system that allows would-be gardeners to find a place to putter in the dirt.

Whether you are a property owner with land to spare or a gardener looking for a place to get your garden off the ground, you start by selecting your city on the Sharing Backyards website. This will bring up a map of the area  with icons representing those looking for space or offering to share their space.

Property owners can click on the little binoculars symbol to bring up people who are looking for garden space. And gardeners can click on the little garden icon to find people who have some space to share. Your address and email address are hidden but a popup box allows you to share messages through the site.

There are no restrictions on how you might choose to share your space.  However, Sharing Backyards suggest that you treat your first meeting with prospective yard-sharing partners as you would with meeting a roommate or potential tenant, first speaking to them on the phone and perhaps meeting in a public place before bringing them to your home.

If you decide this person is someone you'd like to share your yard space with, they also suggest that you come up with a clear understanding of the Considerations for Sharing Your Backyard Garden, including when they may garden, what they can grow, and what, if any, of your stuff they are allowed to use.

In addition to the friend vs foe aspect, there is another definite advantage to the Backyard Sharing program over guerrilla gardening: it provides the gardeners with the opportunity to share their knowledge and friendship as well as their land.

Eco-friendly and organic gardening skills are wonderful things to share with others and many of the listings I saw on Sharing Backyards DC were interesting in this type of gardening.

So whether you want to share your land, your labor or your love for the environment, why not check out Sharing Backyards DC – where you can give both peace, and peas, a chance. Who knows what the process may lead to. Before you know it, you might be sharing some Bare Naked Gardening with a new friend.

Are you itching to get out into your garden? Watch out for poison ivy!

Since I’ve been itching to get out into my garden this winter, I decided to spend some time a few weekends ago pulling out vines and digging up plants along the edges of my property that were little more than dead-looking, leafless stalks and vines.

My body was completely covered, with long pants, socks, shoes, a long sleeved jacket and gloves. And still, I developed a rash that is most definitely poison ivy. Since I have had some pretty bad outbreaks of poison ivy induced rashes at various times of my life, I feel fortunate that this time I only have a small, ½” rash that developed in an area that must have gotten exposed in between my long sleeves and my gloves. But as anyone who has ever gotten into poison ivy knows, that little rash itches enough to cause all kinds of misery.

So the lesson learned is, you CAN get poison ivy in the winter.

Poison ivy is fairly easy to identify when it is displaying its beautiful “leaves of three”. The Virginia Cooperative Extension provides this description:

Poison ivy can grow as a groundcover or small bush in woods, fields, at the edges of openings and trails, and pretty much everywhere else. Poison ivy also grows as a vine that climbs on trees, barns, and fences for support. The vine has small aerial roots along the stem that make it look like a fuzzy rope and often has much longer aerial roots as well. Because the plant grows in so many different forms, its leaflets are the best way to identify poison ivy. The leaflets grow in clusters of three. Hence the old saying "leaves of three, let it be." These leaflets are from two to four inches long with pointed tips. The middle leaflet is usually larger than the others. The edges of the leaflets don't always look the same. They might be smooth, or they could have teeth. The leaflet surface can be many different shades of green and appear glossy, dull, or in between.

But since poison ivy is a deciduous plant, it loses its leaves in the winter, making it very difficult to identify. As the leaves turn yellow, orange and red in the autumn, they begin to drop and may no longer be “leaves of three”. And of course, in the winter, they fall off completely, resulting in nothing but bare sticks and vines.

Unfortunately, these dormant, leafless poison ivy plants still contain the irritating oil, urushiol, which can cause the insufferable rash. In fact even dead poison ivy plants may cause an allergic reaction for several years.

What Causes the Rash?

All parts of the poison ivy plant, including the roots, stems, bark, and leaflets, are poisonous year round. The blistering rash people get is caused by an oily toxin known as urushiol. The most common way this toxin gets on your skin is when you touch the plant, especially one that has been damaged in some way, such as being stepped on or run over with the lawnmower. The toxin is oily and sticky, and is easily spread around when you touch other parts of your body. For example, if you are weeding a flower bed and pull up some poison ivy, then wipe your face later on, the chances are pretty good that a rash will develop on your face. You also can contract the rash by picking up the toxins from animals, clothes, or other items that have been in contact with poison ivy. And, if poison ivy is burned in a brush pile, the resulting smoke carries the toxins. It is very important that you avoid breathing the smoke of burning wood or brush if poison ivy might be part of the pile.

Poison ivy grows fairly quickly and spreads by underground rhizomes. Other plants are started by birds and small animals which love the berries and quickly spread the seeds.

Poison ivy can be tackled (I have yet to see any real evidence in our heavily wooded yard that it can be completely eliminated) by either hand pulling and digging or by spraying the foliage with non-selective herbicide. Since there is no foliage on the plants in the winter, herbicides are not a winter option. However, if you have already identified poison ivy in your landscape during the warmer months, winter can be a good time to remove some of the plants by digging and hand-pulling because the plants are more dangerous in the spring and summer when the oil content is the highest.

Before removing any plants that could possibly be poison ivy, consider these Facts and Tips:

1) Dormant or dead poison ivy is very difficult to identify. You can sometimes identify the larger vines by the hair-like roots growing from the vines.

2) You can develop a severe allergic reaction to poison ivy even if the plants are dormant or dead.

3) The oil from poison ivy plants can make its way through thin layers of clothing, especially if you are sweating while you work.

4) Wash your hands with soap and cool water immediately after touching anything that is suspected of being poison ivy. Warm water may cause the resin to penetrate the skin faster.

5) If burned, the oils in the smoke can cause severe allergic reactions.

6) The oil from poison ivy can be picked up on tools, clothing and the fur of pets and later transferred to your skin. Anything that may be carrying the oil should be thoroughly washed.

7) Always wear long sleeves, long pants, shoes, socks and gloves when handling poison ivy. Launder the clothing separately from the family laundry and wash your hands after placing the clothes in the washer.

8) Heavy growths of poison ivy should never be removed by hand because of the obvious hazard. When leaves are present, spray them with a non-selective herbicide or poison ivy killer. Use these with care to protect other plants from being harmed by the spray.

9) Control with chemicals is most effective during active growth especially in early to mid summer. The chemicals are most efficiently absorbed and translocated through the leaves of the plant at these times.

10) However, winter is a good time to sever poison ivy vines at ground level and paint the severed edge with a suitable herbicide.

11) Be careful not to bring firewood into the house with poison ivy vines attached.

12) Contact your local Extension agent for more information on preparing herbicide mixtures and applying them safely; and always be sure to follow the directions on the product label.

Sources:

Poison Ivy: Leaves of Three, Let it Be! – Virginia Cooperative Extension

Poison Ivy(pdf file) – Maryland Cooperative Extension

Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac Information Center

Outsmarting Poison Ivy

Photos courtesy of http://www.poison-ivy.org/

Toxicodendron radicans– Wikipedia entry with good photos

Winter Weeds: Poison Ivy - a blog post with photos of poison ivy in the winter

Plants to Attract Hummingbirds

THE HUMMINGBIRD GARDEN
Plants to attract hummingbirds for the Mid-Atlantic Region
Plant suggestions from the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Prince William County Office
Plants marked with an * suggested by local gardeners. If you have a hummingbird plant for the Mid-Atlantic region to recommend, please leave it in the comment section below.
Links have been added for the Metro DC Lawn and Garden Blog

** Remember: Eliminate chemical pesticides from your garden before you begin to garden for hummingbirds!

Trees	Exposure	Moisture Requirements
Flowering dogwood Cornus florida	Part sun to light shade	Moist but well-drained soil
Flowering crabapple Malus spp.	Full sun	Moist but well-drained rich soil
Red Buckeye Aesculus pavia	Light shade	Moist but well-drainedsoil
Shrubs	Exposure	Moisture Requirements
American cranberrybush Viburnum trilobum	Full sun	Moist but well-drained soil in full sun
American Elderberry Sambucus canadensis	Full sun	Moist
Arrowwood Virburnum Viburnum dentatum	Full sun to Partial sun	Moist but well-drained, rich soil
Butterfly bush Buddleia davidii	Full sun	Moist but well-drained,soil
Lilac Syringa spp.	Full sun	Well drained, fertile,slightly alkaline soil
Rhododendrons Rhododendron catawbiense	Partial shade	Moist to dry fertile,acid soil
Scarlet Firethorn Pyracantha coccinea	Full sun	Well drained soil
Flowers	Exposure	Moisture Requirements
Ageratum Ageratum houstonianum	Full sun topartial sun	Moist well drained richsoil
Astilbe Astilbe x arendsii	Partial shade	Rich, moist soil
*Balsam Impatien Balsamina	Full sun to part shade	Medium water requirements
* Basil Ocimum basilicum	Full sun	Well drained soil
Bee Balm Monarda didyma	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia fulgida	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Butterfly weed Aesclepias	Full sun	Moist to dry soil
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis	Full sun	Wet to Moist soil/ bog

Flowers	Exposure	Moisture Requirements
Cleome Cleome hasslerana	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Columbine Aquilegia canadense	Sun/Partial shade	Moist well drained soil
Coral bell Heuchera	Sun/Partial sun	Moist well drained soil
Cosmos Cosmos spp.	Full sun	Moist well-drained soil
Evening primrose/ sundrops Oenothera	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Four-o’clocks Mirabilis jalapa	Full sun topartial sun	Moist well drained soil
Fuchsia Fuchsia spp	Morningsun/ shade	Moist but well drainedrich soil
Geranium Pelargonia x hortorum	Full sun	Moist but well drainedrich soil
Globe thistle Echinops ritro	Full sun	Drought tolerant
Goldenrod Solidago	Full sun	Drought tolerant
Heliotrope Heliotropium arborescens	Afternoonshade	Moist well drained richsoil
Hollyhock Althaea or Alcea	Full sun	Moist well drainedaverage soil
Indian Pink Spigelia marilandica	Full sun tolight shade	Moist well drained soil
Ironweed Veronia noveboracensis	Full sun	Moist to wet soil
Hyssop Agastache	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Impatiens Impatiens wallerana	Partialsun/shade	Moist well drained richsoil
Lobelia Lobelia spp.	Full sun	Moist to wet soils
Lupine Lupinus spp	Full sun	Moist well drainedloose soil
New England aster Aster novae-angliae	Sun to lightshade	Moist well drained soil
Nicotiana Nicotiana	Full sun	Moist well drained richsoil
Penstemon Penstemon	Full sun	Requires perfectdrainage
Petunias Petunia spp	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Phlox Phlox paniculata	Full sun	Moist well drained soil

Flowers	Exposure	Moisture Requirements
Pineapple sage Salvia elegans	Full sun topart sun	Moist well drained soil
Purple coneflower Echinacea purpurea	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Red-hot poker Kniphofia uvaria	Full sun	Constantly moist soil
Salvias Salvia coccinea	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Mexican Sunflower Tithonia rotundifolia	Full Sun	Moist well drained soil
Tropaeolum Nasturtium	Full sun	Moist well drained richsoil
Yarrow Achillea	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Zinnia Zinnia elegans	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Vines	Exposure	Moisture Requirements
Cardinal Climber Ipomoea quamoclit	Full sun	Moist well drained.Mulch over roots
Cross Vine (Trumpet Flower) Bignonia capreolata	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Mandevilla Mandevilla splendens	Partialshade	Moist well drained rich soil
Trumpet honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens	Full sun	Moist well drained soil
Trumpet Creeper Campsis radicans	Full sun	Moist well drained soil