I too am EXTREMELY SENSITIVE to poison ivy and recently broke out in a similar rash after being careless while propagating my all time favorite plant, the philodendron micans. I also suspected that had to be it so I took a fresh cutting and dabbed the sap several times in my arm and didn't wash off for a few hours. Somewhere between 12 & 24 hours later, I started feeling that familiar itch and watched as my test patch gradually spread out the size of a dime and rose up with the little tiny bubble pattern I'm used to seeing with poison ivy rash. THIS SUCKS! I'm in the middle of battling it right now and in my research found this helpful article. I also read another helpful tip that said the sap from these plants can somehow penetrate through standard medical gloves so thicker gardening type gloves should be used when propagating and caution should also be taken when refreshing propagation water. I plant to purchase some thick, SOLID rubber gloves that can easily be thoroughly washed. NOT those gardening gloves that have a breathable section at the back of the hand and wrists! You should also clean the tools you use and the work area. Rubbing alcohol AT LEAST 70% grade is known to be effective for cleaning tools that have come in contact with poison ivy so I plan on implementing that. As well as never shortcutting again by taking rushed cuttings and not doing the basics like laying out a protective mat and immediately washing my hands afterwards. I lazily let my NUMEROUS cuttings drop to the floor (CARPET!) and I know I didn't wash my hands right away like I normally do. A couple hours later I laid on this floor in a tank top and got a mild rash a day later across my upper back and shoulder area as well as my ear lobes which I believe is from handling my earbuds right after propagating my favorite plant. PLEASE MAKE MY PAIN WORTH IT AND LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU... PUH-LEAZE!

First of all, I must say you have chosen a house with a lovely garden. Congratulations on your new home. For i.d. purposes it is best to have a close up of just one plant per photo so that we know what we are talking about, but I will have a stab at a few of them. The low variegated ground cover is a Lamium sp. The small plants with white flowers are Vinca. The three round shrubs are probably Box. The white flowers behind them are Hydrangeas. The white daisy flowers near the gas? meter are Shasta daisies. The shrubs near the pink bird feeder might be Azaleas. The large leafed variegated plants are Hostas. Please post more photos when you can! Cheers, Dee.

I agree. Working outside as a vocation around flowers and trees, I have developed an allergy to them over the years after repeated stings. I don't panic about it, but a healthy respect for them is appropriate. I have had to make two ER trips, one in the back of an ambulance after a sting. That being said, I have a huge and lovely bee colony perhaps twenty yards from my house........very docile honeybees. Never been stung. But have been stung by wasps and it's possible that there is a ground colony of something like Yellow Jackets in or around that bush. If that is the case, a professional on insect control might be suggested to identify the insect and if there is a colony of something like yellow jackets with potential aggression issues in defending a colony, it may be necessary. Is the poster sure they AREN'T honeybees just swarming? Mine have put out three swarms the last month. If that is the case, bee keepers would be thrilled to come harvest them for nothing. Before mine balled up to travel, they were flying crazily around two trees for a day or two.

The fungus gnats could be an indication that you are either keeping the plant too moist and/or that your potting mix doesn't drain rapidly enough. Those are factors that 'could' be causing the severe leaf burn we see in the image. I'd get a decent, soil-less potting mix and add a bit of perlite and bark soil conditioner. The bark pieces will be much smaller than what you see as pine bark. We call them 'fines'. I've seen bags of this stuff at most of the big box stores and it makes a superior container medium amendment. I can't speak to the fertilizer issue. I am not familiar with the brand you mentioned. Just be very sure that you aren't using too much, too often as that could cause foliar burn, as well.