Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Martha Jane Howard Woody on February 14, 2010 at 7:40pm

I have a lot of angel trumpets in my yard and don't have a problem.

Permalink Reply by Debbie Cochran/zone 7 on February 22, 2010 at 7:29pm

In the past, I have had Angel's Trumpet. I planted them from seed that my grandfather had saved. Love the dramatic, sweet smelling blooms.

Permalink Reply by Martha Jane Howard Woody on February 22, 2010 at 7:40pm

I have foxgloves. people don't watch their children anymore.

Pauline Sweeney/Z9 FL said:

Foxglove (digitalis) is one plant I will never grow - one of the fatal ones. I agree that education and vigilance is the best alternative to not growing some of the most beautful plants/flowers I've seen. My parents grew rhubarb so we knew the leaves were never to be eaten! I don't like it anyway but I'm sure commercial growers would know too.

liz joseph said:

I just found this link online:

http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/publications/poison/poison.html

It also lists iris, rhododendron, bleeding heart, and foxglove as poisonous... which I grow. Some are so fatal, there are no symptoms and death is almost instant.

At the bottom of the page it says:
Treat unknown plants with respect, and teach your children to do the same.

I totally agree! Now, I'm not going to go outside and rip out all of my plants, but I'll definitely teach the kids on my street about them. Oh, it also said that the leaves of the rhubarb plants are fatal if ingested. That makes me think twice about eating rhubarb pie... How many leaves are mixed into the ones made from large companies? Eh, I'm sure I'll still eat it, but I'll be thinking about the leaves the entire time, LOL.

Permalink Reply by Martha Jane Howard Woody on February 22, 2010 at 8:17pm

The passion vine is toxic too, but I love them, And my goat know what to eat. Ground Ivy is poisonous but my chickens eat it with no problem. I don't know of any chicken dying from plants

Martha Jane Howard Woody said:

I have foxgloves. people don't watch their children anymore.

Pauline Sweeney/Z9 FL said:

Foxglove (digitalis) is one plant I will never grow - one of the fatal ones. I agree that education and vigilance is the best alternative to not growing some of the most beautful plants/flowers I've seen. My parents grew rhubarb so we knew the leaves were never to be eaten! I don't like it anyway but I'm sure commercial growers would know too.

liz joseph said:

I just found this link online:

http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/publications/poison/poison.html

It also lists iris, rhododendron, bleeding heart, and foxglove as poisonous... which I grow. Some are so fatal, there are no symptoms and death is almost instant.

At the bottom of the page it says:
Treat unknown plants with respect, and teach your children to do the same.

I totally agree! Now, I'm not going to go outside and rip out all of my plants, but I'll definitely teach the kids on my street about them. Oh, it also said that the leaves of the rhubarb plants are fatal if ingested. That makes me think twice about eating rhubarb pie... How many leaves are mixed into the ones made from large companies? Eh, I'm sure I'll still eat it, but I'll be thinking about the leaves the entire time, LOL.

Permalink Reply by Anne Chastain on April 23, 2010 at 11:02pm

I live where foxglove is a native weed. I have lots of it that I let grow wild. I raised two children around it, and never had an issue. The worst effect I ever saw from foxglove was when as kids, we used to wait until bees climbed up the blossoms and then we would pinch the edge shut and trap the bees. I saw a few bee stings from that. My husband and I have spent many years in the Emergency Medical Service and it's very rare that a child ingests enough of anything to be dangerous. Remember how many tries it to to get your child to swallow the strained peas? Children may put things in their mouths, but its extremely rare that they actually swallow enough of anything to reach toxicity.

I don't believe in teaching a child that a garden is a place of danger and that nature is to be feared. It is to be respected yes, but there are lots of things that will kill you. You are more likely to die in a car wreck than by ingesting something in your garden, but I don't hear anyone talk about giving up their cars or not letting their children get near them.

I have foxglove, aconitum, lantana, euphorbia, hellebores that all have caution tags on them. I also have children visit my gardens. Nettles can sting, rose thorns can poke, vines can trip, but teaching a child how to be careful and aware around nature is part of growing up. If they never see a potential harm, how will they learn that those things exist? I'm not pulling out my wild foxglove or my rare pink monkshood, I taught my boys to look both ways before crossing the street, to wear their seatbelts and bike helmets and not to put strange things in their mouths. I also taught them that gardens are beautiful and some of the most beautiful things can be dangerous. Building a campfire, walking along a mountain ridge, peering into the edge of a canyon, taking your first solo drive in the car, all dangerous, all do-able with proper training and precautions.

Now my garden may not be safe for a child to walk in unsupervised, but then why on earth would I miss the opportunity to view my gardens through the eyes of that child. Children view my garden with me, holding my hand while I pick things for them to touch, smell, see up close. We lay on our bellies by the pond and count the newts and frogs. I pick them berries and lift them up into trees to pick a plum or apple. I won't let children wander unattended through my garden, but not for their safety, I do it for my enrichment.

Permalink Reply by AnnieZio Zone 8b on May 2, 2010 at 10:23pm

Heck yeah! Its called Foxglove....

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