An English garden and poison ivy

If you want to learn how to get public and private money for a private park, this article about a semi-private garden in England could point the way.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/garden/17northumberland.html?ref=garden
Of course, it is only open to the general public at times, no doubt a little nuisance to the owners. They raised the money for it, didn't they? The Duchess's justification that it is not an elite garden for elite gardeners is a bit disingenuous. Is it a free garden, open all daylight hours for all, staffed by government employees? I don't think so. The slideshow does make it look nice, but it is only just over half finished. Harry Potter would be very impressed, as this was where some of the early movies were filmed!

Meanwhile, back on the farm (our private park definitely financed privately (!) on similar acreage as the story above) in central New Jersey, poison ivy and English ivy removal has been our focus this week now that the spring grass growth is slowing. We have had only sunny, hot weather lately. It's beautiful. This article highlights this scourge of summer and what you can do about it, if you have to do something about it, as we do.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/garden/17garden.html?scp=1&sq=poison%20ivy&st=cse
I am not familiar with jewelweed and have had to rely on commercial cleansers and lotions. But my tree professional says to use bleach directly on the skin! Poison ivy even gets into your gloves which is why some professional gardeners won't wear gloves, amazing as that may sound. It even gets into the swimming pool water to reinfect you if it happens to be on your skin! I guess a Mommy has to do what a Mommy has to do, but it is a lot easier if someone else does it for you. I have to thank Scannella Landscaping LLC, phone: (609) 924-2668, for their perenially perfect work done on our grounds. Now if only I could bring myself to spend as much money (over $80 million) on my garden as the Duchess already has, but at least mine is finished!