I keep meaning to add a posting about Hogweed or Cowparsley to my blog site, following the rather unpleasant after effects that I had after strimming in a client's garden where this was growing.I thought I'd covered up quite well and with the use of a face guard too I'd not bargained for the horrible blisters that you can get when any of the plant or it's juices from the stem touch your skin... so if you've got this in your garden and are wanting to strim - do take extreme care!
In summer it produces large white umbrelliferous flowers!
9 comments:
We don't have any, thank goodness. Our pain-in-the-neck plant is ground elder, which I have been clearing from our plot since we arrived 17 years ago. I dig it out...carefully...twice a year...but up it comes each year to spite me. I even cleared out every plant in a large area one year...cleaned the soil and replanted all the plants minus the ground elder...but my neighbour's garden has it under her hedges...and the wind blows the seed across. Guess I'm stuck with it :)
Hi Wildlife Gardener - C'est la vie as they say in France... I guess most of us have one menace of a weed or another - our others are bind weed, brambles, and couch grass - not to mention the others - but then what do you expect from a garden that was left to it's own devices for around 9 years!!?
I'm getting together a whole series of pics of before and after's of our plot here ... so watch this space - that will give you a little idea of what we took on ... much like yourself I think! :)
Another excellent blog - love the flowers - will be back.
the ramblers.
It is a nightmare Miranda. We get a lot of it here. Fortunately it hasn't crept into my garden yet.
My problem is horseradish...don't get me wrong I use it to make a sauce for beef....but it spreads like wildfire.
Take care Miranda....its a jungle out there!!!!
Thanks Cheryl... haven't had much time for blogging over the weekend as have had my parents staying - always a great help in the garden and we seem to have done loads with surprisingly nice weather too in between the odd thunderstorm too! Hope all's going well in your own garden too... the swallows are back here for serious and Mrs Swallow has taken up an alternative nest in the old stable as the Wrens have rebuilt the nest the swallows used last year by filling in the top half leaving just a small hole - an amazing peace of art work for such a small bird!! Will keep you posted on progress! Take care Miranda
Fortunately your dangerous weed is one thing we don't have to be concerned with here in Florida. We have plenty of weeds that grow year round - the one that comes to mind we have to watch out for is poison oak ivy. It looks much like other vines so it is easy to grab it without thinking. If once you do you will be broken out in itchy hives for days.
Meems @Hoe&Shovel
Timely posting Miranda. I knew a warden about 10 years ago who was strimming this and had a gap in the protection around his knees between shorts and wellies. He ended up in hospital with 3rd degree burns, as we found out later that intense unlight (he was strimming mid day in mid summer sun) increases the effect of the irritant (furocoumarin). The advice was therefore to try and strim in dull weather if possible as reduces the problem - slightly!!
Will look forward to the before and after shots.
I've got two problem plants but loathe to eradicate them completely, Teasle and Evenimg Primrose.
Hi, Miranda! Popped over to see if you had anything new for me to feast my eyes upon...but you must be busy outdoors as most of us are at the mo... :)
Sorry I've been abscent for a little while... there's just so much to do in the garden here and also for clients too that I don't get as much time to do this as I'd like! We've had so much rain in the last week and thunder storms to add to this too - everything including the weeds growing at twice the speed with the increased humidity... will try and post some pics of the garden as it's all beginning to look really pretty - and all the veggies seem to be enjoying the rain too!
Meems - great to see you again - you're lucky not to have the Hogweed but then every garden has something!! How're all your veggies coming along... last time I looked - they were way ahead of here!
Hi Border-R - pictures of weeds aren't that interesting but I felt that there hadn't been much publicised about Hogweed and from experience (certainly hadn't had 3rd degree burns) it really does leave it's mark! Will try and post some more pics v. soon!
Hi Wildlife Gardener... sorry there's not been more posted here - will do my best v. soon... I hear from my mother in law that the temperature in Scotland have been quite low compared to our 24 degrees much of this week... will pop over to check out what's going on on your blog v.soon...
Take care all and see you soon! Miranda
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