Category: Gardening

Cures For Poison Ivy Tips To Reduce Redness And Itching

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The human skin is the largest organ in the human body. When we have so much skin covering the whole body, it is natural that we need to take good care of it and be sure that no harm comes to it. There are some instances when the skin gets rashes and other afflictions, which can be quite debilitating as well as irritating. It is no wonder that around the world, taking care of the kin is a million dollar business, which seems to be relentlessly growing with each passing year. One of the afflictions that one encounters is poison ivy symptoms, which cause a great deal of concern and worry to individuals around the globe. It is itchy and often strikes someone when they are enjoying themselves outdoors camping, hiking or gardening. It catches one out of the blue and at times when we may not be prepared.

The main cause of poison ivy symptoms is urushiol, which is a sticky substance that is found in the poison ivy plant. It is also found in other poisonous plants like poison oak and poison sumac. Urushiol is known to cause dermatitis which results in the severe itching response. Allergies occur when the body comes in contact with allergens or alien substances that cause irritation. Some people get welts as part of their reactions.

There are many parts of the world that are seen to have a preponderance of poison ivy plant, The poison ivy plant is seen in many parts of Northern America including the US and also some parts of Canada. The plant is common ion New England as well as in some parts of Mid Atlantic and South Eastern parts of the USA. It is seen in higher altitudes of over 1500 meters and though it is not at all an arid plant, it does grow in various kinds of soil . Though we like to be carefree when walking on trails, we need to have some awareness that poison ivy may lurk there.

Some of the most important poison ivy symptoms are the inflammation and red mark rash marks that appear in the body. These could also lead to some non colored bumps which become blisters . In very severe cases, there could also be incidence of anaphylaxis, which in very severe cases can also cause an anaphylactic shock. Allergic reactions can lead to respiratory problems for certain people. This is one of the main reasons why people who show poison ivy symptoms, should not neglect or ignore these signs. Be aware the urushiol oil can spread easily and that if one has some on one’s clothing or shoes it can then go on another part of the body or to anyone that touches it.

In case of poison ivy symptoms, one can use calamine lotions, jewel weed, baking soda soaks or Vicks Vapor rub in order to give some relief. Some people say that oatmeal baths are excellent to reduce inflammation and the eruptions. Don’t forget that you can also get an allergic reaction if you inhale burnt poison ivy so don’t just start burning brush unless you know what types of plants they are.

If you see someone with poison ivy symptoms, you need to advise the person to get medical advice and attention immediately to avoid complications later. Wear long sleeves when you romp in the woods and this will also be helpful for tick bites as well.

How To Stop Birds From Hitting Windows

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There are many reports every year all over the United States about birds hitting windows on homes and buildings repeatedly. In fact, in just the United States there are an estimated 900 million birds killed from hitting windows every year. Now that sounds like a lot, but if you think about it, that’s really only an average of about 2-3 birds per house each year, with many people reporting more than 3.

The reasons behind all this window striking is mainly due to the refection birds see when it is brighter outside than inside your house. This makes it very easy for them to see everything that is outside reflected in the glass like a mirror. There are even many instances where the birds see its own reflection and will feel the need to chase that other bird they see (this happens a lot during breading season).

Therefore, this is a topic discussed numerous times every year about the best solutions to get birds to stop doing this.

So, at this point I’m sure some readers have already done some of their own research about different answers to get this stopped. Some for example are:

Sticking decals on the glass
Move bird feeders farther away from the house
Hanging things down in front of their windows
Installing screens
Even replacing windows with a ones that reflect down or bird safe glass

As a result, these techniques can help, but do not always get the job done and can get expensive after trying one thing and then another. Also, I prefer my bird feeders to be somewhat close to my house, so I don’t have to use binoculars every time I want a better look at a bird I see at our feeders. So the easiest, and in my opinion the best solution to this problem is a feeder that mounts directly on the window. And the reason this works so well is because the birds can very clearly see the feeder on the window, and will fly to the feeder to eat then away from the house when finished eating (which the flying away from feeders is the most common window hitting). This is also a cheap way to fixing the problem with window bird feeders only costing $12 to $25 on average, and are great for getting a close view of birds while eating.

I hope this was helpful and that you are able to save more birds from hitting your windows. And for your convenience there is a great new bird supply store online that has amazing organized selections of everything bird watching related with some great deals on window bird feeders as well (please see my resources for more information).

I Choose Square Foot Gardening

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Square foot gardening has been on my radar only slightly less time than any other type of gardening. Until the last couple of years, I had not the time, space, or energy to plant a vegetable garden of any kind, square foot gardening or no. My gardening efforts were limited to a few ornamental flowers in the foot-wide bed outside our front window. Recently, the desire to plant a vegetable garden has been a more feasible goal as I have more space and time for my home and garden. I’ve seen several square foot gardening examples, including my mom’s; she’s very experienced with vegetable gardens, has had success square foot gardening. I’ve been excited all winter to try it in my own garden.

The idea of square foot gardening appeals to me for many reasons, but maybe the biggest in my mind is that a more compact vegetable garden equals less square feet of potential weed terrain. My gardens have not performed to their potential in the past, largely because after I plant, I lose steam and the time I spend working in the garden just isn’t enough to keep up with the weeds. Square foot gardening, maybe in a raised square foot garden, sounds fantastic – less weed potential on two accounts that way!

The compact soil use in square foot gardening appeals to me for reasons beyond the weed factor. I like the idea of efficiency, and by planting somewhere around 16 different vegetable varieties in a 16-square-foot space, square foot gardening gives us the epitome of garden efficiency. Not only is garden efficiency a preference, it’s economical. I won’t need as much peat moss or other garden soil prepping products if I’m only planning to grow vegetables in a small area. Now the only problem will be what to do with the extra garden space! I’m thinking a raspberry bush – a delicious square foot gardening bonus.

Last but not least on the square foot gardening appeal list is the aesthetic appeal. I did a quick online search to check out some square foot gardening and was surprised to find how sharp the beds look! My grandmother’s vegetable garden was amazing, but it wasn’t much to look at – lots of dirt with peas and carrots and other vegetable varieties interspersed. Square foot gardening can be planned around the vegetable variety you want AND ornamental value. There are plans online for endless styles, including vegetable gardens for kids, square foot gardens based on a recipe, and some that just look exotic. I plan to do my square foot gardening in the back yard, but it’s pretty impressive to think that I could put it in the front without compromising on style.

Between the internet and my mother the garden genius, I figure I should be an expert on square foot gardening by the time I can get my husband to build some raised garden beds for our soon-to-be- square foot garden. I can’t wait to choose my vegetable and aesthetic combination and get my square foot gardening plant on!

Is Low Blood Pressure Really Curable

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Low blood pressure mainly occurs due when your blood pressure falls down than the normal. This mainly refers to the weakened state of the body system particularly lacking proper blood flow out from the heart by way of arteries. It is also referred to as hypertension.

Causes of Low Blood Pressure:

The causes of low blood pressure are weakness, lethargy, dizziness and fatigue. Sometimes the situation is that the person may faint due to the extreme lower pressure of the blood flow through the arteries to various parts of the body such as heart, brain and skeletal muscles.
Yet the main cause of the low blood pressure is improper eating habits. The lack of nutritional diet may result in the over-relaxed, stretched or flabby blood vessels. This all leads to the low supply of nutrients or oxygen to the tissue of the body. The malnutrition occurs mainly due to the deficiency of proteins, vitamin C, calories and vitamin B.

In few cases the blood pressure constantly falls down due to the loss of excessive blood from the body. It may also occur due to slow bleeding within bladder, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract or emotional problems.

Home Remedies for Low Blood Pressure:

Salt: Salt is an effective home remedy for curing the low blood pressure. It is advised to increase the intake of salt in the diet till the blood pressure reaches to the normal. Try to take a half teaspoon of salt duly mixed in water every day.

Epsom salts Bath: To overcome the problem of low blood pressure it is advised the person should take hot Epsom bath every day till the BP comes to normal.

Beetroot: Beetroot is very beneficial to overcome the low blood pressure. It is advised that the person should consume one cup of beetroot juice two times a day to get considerable improvement.

Indian Spikenard: Indian spikiness is also very helpful in curing the problem of low blood pressure. It is advised that nearly forty to fifty grains with little bit of cinnamon and camphor should be taken with water three times a day to have beneficial result.

However, to treat oneself from low blood pressure it is important to rejuvenate or revitalize the whole system. To start with person should consume fresh fruits and vegetables for continuous a week, three times a day after every five hours. After this course he or she should start taking milk as well for at least 15 to 20 days. Later on the person should switch over to nutritious and balanced diet such as grains, seeds and nuts along with fresh veggies and fruits.

Apart from this the person should do light exercises like walking, cycling, gardening and breathing exercises. The person should always make himself or herself tension- free, happy and positive thinker to avoid the problem of low blood pressure.

Thus treating low blood pressure problem could be all that easy by following the above mentioned home remedies.

Echinacea purpurea cultivars Part I

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The best Echinacea cultivars for sale today are the E. purpurea cultivars. There are too many to list in a single article so this article series breaks them up alphabetically. E. purpurea are the hardiest and most adaptable of all of the Echinacea, and they are great-as long as you like purple.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Alba’: White flowered form of the purple coneflower (Sun to light shade, Zone 3-8)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Avalanche’ PP 18,597: The best compact, single white-flowered coneflower in our trials. This Arie Bloom hybrid makes a tight clump, adorned in summer with 20″ spikes of large, white, horizontally-held petals…quite nice! (Zone 4-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Bright Star’ (syn: Echinacea purpurea ‘Leuchstern’): This superb seed strain of our native coneflower is a bit taller than most (to 3-4′) and has a slightly larger and more horizontally held rosy purple petals. The small winter rosettes give rise in mid summer to see thru spikes of large pinkish daisies…great for naturalizing! (Zone 3-8)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Cotton Candy’ PPAF: Large, pink, pompon flowers.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Crimson Star’: Crimson-lavender petals.

Echinacea purpurea ‘Cygnet White’: This is a new and outstanding dwarf, white flowered selection of the 1998 Perennial Plant of the Year. In midsummer, the small rosettes of foliage send up flowering stems that are topped with stunning white coneflowers… best when used in a mass planting or blended into a perennial border. (Sun to light shade, Zone 3-8)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Fatal Attraction’ PP 18,429: This new selection of our US native Echinacea purpurea is from Piet Oudolf’s famed garden in Holland. Echinacea ‘Fatal Attraction’ is unique because of the 26″ tall sturdy wine black stems that hold the intense pink flowers…a favorite of garden visitors. Flowering begins in late June…be patient. (Zone 3-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Fragrant Angel’ PP 16,054, PVR: This sturdy new coneflower from Terra Nova Nurseries is the white counterpart of Echinacea ‘Ruby Giant’ and the best white coneflower we have ever grown. The giant 4-5″ heads of pure white petals, around a contrasting orange cone, are also deliciously fragrant. Since these are clonally reproduced, each plant is identical for a more uniform planting. (Zone 3-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Green Envy’: When Mark Veeder first showed me a photo of his new Echinacea purpurea seedling, I thought for sure this was an April Fool’s Photoshop TM creation. Only after growing and photographing the plant myself, can I say for sure, it is truly this unique. The 20″ tall stems are topped, starting in mid-June, with large 4.5″ wide flowers composed of a dark cone with a green center. Surrounding the cone, are long petals that are pink toward the cone changing to lime-green toward the downward recurving tips. Echinacea ‘Green Envy’ is so weird, gardeners will either love or hate it…we love it! (Zone 4-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Knee High’ PP 12,242: From Tony’s college classmate Kim Hawks, former owner of Niche Gardens, comes a new dwarf selection of the wonderful native purple coneflower. This compact selection is the first coneflower to be vegetatively propagated, ensuring that every plant is identical…no seed-grown variation as long as you remove the old seed heads. Starting in mid-June (NC), each flower head has rigidly reflexed, rosy-pink petals that give a truly unique look to this selection. Purple coneflower is extremely drought-tolerant, although it does favor improved garden conditions. Plant a drift, sit back with drink in hand, and wait for the butterflies! (Zone 3-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Mop Head’ PP 13,560: We are delighted to be able to offer the wonderful white flowered companion to Echinacea ‘Kim’s Knee High’. This mutation of Echinacea ‘Kim’s Knee High’, discovered at Sunny Border Nursery in Connecticut, has the same wonderful compact habit with perfectly symmetrical downward arching heads of fringed-white petals…what a great garden plant. Echinacea ‘Kim’s Mop Head’ looks great when planted in a mass in a flower bed or border. (Zone 3-9)

Echinacea purpurea ‘Kim’s Red Knee High’ PP 20,411: A mutation of Echinacea ‘Kim’s Knee High’, discovered at Connecticut’s Sunny Border Nursery in 2005. Echinacea ‘Kim’s Red Knee High’ has the same vigorous growth, short habit and attractively reflexed petals of its parent. The name red, however, is problematic…another example of male color-blindness and why you never ask men to describe a color. The color is actually a richer, darker pink than the parent, but nothing close to red. (Zone 4-9)

Although they are not the latest and greatest cultivars, Echinacea purpurea cultivars are still the best.

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