Green Thumb Momma

Arum italicum 'marmoratum' (commonly named "Lords and Ladies") is by far the strangest plant in my garden. It's backwards, and beautiful.

arum italicum 'marmoratum'

My arums are growing in full to part shade on the north side of my zone 7 home. The soil is fairly dry as it is lives under the eaves of the house. It has rhizome-like roots, buried very deep in the soil. It's height and spread: about 12" tall and forms large clumps with time. It's leaves resemble caladiums or elephant ears in appearance (heart-shaped and attractive) . . . but, they aren't as colorful; only green with light green veins. The leaves produce paper-thin white spathes which both die back. The leaves are followed by rattle-like green spikes lined with green berries. The berries turn blaze-orange with time.

Pretty plant, but why is it backwards and strange? Timing. The leaves appear in early fall and stay green all winter long. The white spathes appear in spring and the orange berries in late spring. The plant dies with the beginning of summer.

Different and wonderful. Try it out in your garden for winter interest. By the way, I plant summer shade annuals (like impatiens and coleus) over the arum for the summer.

[Two words of warning here. 1. If you leave the orange berries to die back the plant will multiply and spread. 2. Removing the orange berries requires care - the plant "juices" are very irritating/burning to the skin. Wear gloves. Wash hands and arms immediately after handling the plant.]

Did you now that more than 500 people can itch from the amount of urushiol (poison ivy oil) on the head of a pin?

I have been struggling with a bad case of poison ivy. I apparently got it from Hubby's clothing - picking it up off the floor to carry it to the washing machine (hint, hint, honey). There is no substitute for some advice and prescription meds from the M.D. So take my humble opinion with caution: poison ivy rash itches. Shocker, I know.

Topical creams = okay; Allergy medicines = good; oral steroids = good, but take time to work.

What can you do to provide some instant relief? Hubby found a great solution for the itching. Scalding hot water! Get the water as hot as you can stand it, run the rash under the sink (or use washclothes for those hard-to-get areas). It will hurt, and it will itch like crazy for about a minute . . . then, viola! The itching stops for a few hours! This trick has helped me get a couple of hours of sleep at a time. The allergy meds and the steriods ramp you up; add the itching and it's hard to sleep with a poison ivy rash. A little hot water does the trick.

Give it a try if you get desperate.

To read more on poison ivy: www.poisonivy.aesir.com

Hello again.

I've added some information to the plant list page. I've kept a running list of perennials, shrubs, and trees in my garden over the years. This list so far is a first attempt at a catalogue. Most of the plants I inherited with the house are listed by common name and their variety is still unknown.

Identifying varieties is a difficult process for me as it: 1. takes a lot of research 2. requires detailed information about the plant 3. usually requires me to have a photograph of the bloom, the leaves and branches, etc. It's incredibly time-consuming!

How did botanists ever do this without a computer and a camera? Amazing folks, botanists!

Talking about this gets me so excited . . . going outside now.