Blog posts tagged with '#planting'

 While pulling weeds this afternoon I chose to ignore the signs of Poison Ivy. 

The green leaves had the pointy edges all the way around. As I started to pull on them as well as a lot of other weeds the thought crossed my mind. I said to

myself, "Hey that looks like poison ivy." Then I decided it was not. I thought to myself, "Poison Ivy does not  grow around the houses?"

We usually come across it in the woods. Not 10 min. later I noticed a red rash up both sides of my arms. I started to panic and headed for the sink and scrubbed with a bunch of soap!

I washed my arms 3 times and was careful not to touch anything.

My next step was Web MD.

This is where I found the photos and what to do next. Poison ivy causes a red rash.

Later will come fluid filled bumps. The rash is caused by an allergic reaction to the oil in the plant. It can spread if its on your clothing. As I continued to read on WebMD I learned that the rash does not show up for about 5 hours after contact with the plant.

I also learned that you can not spread it after the rash has showed up. This is something new I learned.

You need to have contact the oil to spread Poison Ivy. When it seems to be spreading it is actually still developing from earlier contact. I am not sure what is on my arms at this point but I hope it goes away. If not I will be heading to the store for some calamine lotion.

I love to drive real slow through my neighborhood and check out all the great gardens and landscapes! People may think I am weird at times, but I get lots of great new ideas for my own yard. 

Just this afternoon while driving home from church I noticed a porch with two black rod iron chairs. One on each side of the front door.

They had cut a hole in the seat of each chair  and placed a  basket of beautiful little purple flowers. I thought it was a great idea! I see chairs just like it in the trash every so often. Next time I see chairs like this I am going to garbage pick them, buy some spray paint and copy the idea. I hope they don't mind ;).

Raised garden beds are getting very popular for many reasons. Some of us have bad dirt and want to start over. Others want to keep small animals out of the garden. Then there are those of us who just like the look. No matter what you reason is for wanting a raised garden bed. I have a few easy solutions to building one that will take very little time and effort and money.

The first idea is to use an old plastic swimming pool. You can cut most of the bottom out so the water can drain and place a bottom layer or rock prior to filling it up with dirt.

The next idea is to use a horse trough. They are easy to find at tractor supply and they look good. If you don't like the color you can always paint the outside. Don't forget to cut the large hole in the bottom and dump a layer of rock before you put the dirt in.

My third idea was to find a old wooden box. The ones people use That ship large items. They may be a little too tall but, you can cut as much as you want off the top. It would still be easier than starting from scratch.

My last idea was to use an old sand box. It does not matter what kind. My daughter has an old plastic one that liked like a crab. I wish we still had it. The last step is to plant your raised bed and enjoy the extra time and money you saved.

Please feel free to share your DIY project on our Mister Landscaper Facebook page.