Monkshood at Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park, B.C., Canada. Photo by hickoryrose, shared via Flickr.
When I arrived at the wildflower plant sale last June, it was already packed, and it was still five minutes before the official opening. My neighbors had hinted that I might want to get there early, and I could see why. I jockeyed for position alongside others who were filling their flats as fast as they could. The "grab-em-and-run" approach was infectious, and I soon found myself loaded down with many wildflowers that I didn't know but thought I should try.
After getting home, I spent a little time on the internet so that I could learn what they needed for space, light and care.
That's when I discovered that monkshood is "Highly Toxic! May be fatal when eaten!" Not that
I would try it. But I thought it risky to plant a pretty but potentially fatal plant within reach of my toddler's capable and curious fingers. After all, hadn't I put away all scissors, installed necessary gates and locks, and cleared out anything containing BPA?
The thought of being headline news for monkshood poisoning was sobering.
So I marched both $7 lovelies across the street and gifted them to our neighbors. That way they'd be a safe distance away, and we still might be able to enjoy their color from afar.
"You're not in the will, you know," noted Jack matter-of-factly. "So you don't need to try and poison us."
Laughing, I went back home to continue my research. That's when I saw that the delphinium I had bought was poisonous too. I strolled over to Jack's again with another offering.
Over the next few weeks, I found places for all my new wildflowers, tending them carefully - not quite smug that I had saved my child's life, but satisfied I'd done my part. That's when I came across a brochure that had been given to me along with the sheath of other information I received when my six-year-old was born. It explained the dangers of poisonous plants and gave a helpful list. I was surprised to find that many of them had been in my yard for years. Birch, bleeding heart, anemone, lily of the valley, lupine, vinca.
To be honest, I was a little perturbed at the thought of getting rid of them. After all, I can't just transplant everything over to Jack's. It seems unrealistic to remove everything that might be poisonous. Yet after childproofing inside the home, why wouldn't I remove all dangers outside the home as well?
Here are a couple of resources to see how well you know your own plants. They are offered by individual states, but cover plants found elsewhere as well.
Is warning children about consuming or handling plants sufficient? How far should one go to protect them? Please weigh in with your thoughts!
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This has been a hotly-debated topic on our local moms board recently after a poisonous plant was discovered at the tot lot. Several moms weighed in that their kids had taken a taste in the past and their pediatricians had told them that the plant was bitter enough (and one mom tried it to confirm) that most kids will not eat enough to get sick. So, I think it depends on the plant. If one beautiful shiny appetizing-looking red berry is enough to make someone seriously ill then, yes, I’d remove it. But if one bite is just going to show my daughter that that plant doesn’t taste very good, I’d leave it. We have a crabapple tree in our yard which, though not poisonous, we still don’t want my daughter eating so we’ve been stressing that crabapples, outdoor berries and other outdoor plants outside of the garden are food for the birds and squirrels and not for people.
I agree with LauraJ on the importance of finding out *how much* of something it takes to harm a child when deciding which large, mature plants to keep or root out. A lot of plants will make kids sick when consumed in large, rather unlikely quantities, but the species I worry about are the ones for which just a bite or two is really dangerous. In my experience, poison control centers tend to have more information on relative levels of harmfulness than plant guides.
Oleanders are a particular problem where I live (Phoenix), they’re quite poisonous and seem to be everywhere!
Mariah, this is so helpful! We don’t have kids, but I’m a piano teacher and I have 20 students, mostly elementary-aged, plus parents and younger siblings, at my house each week. This is something I never would have thought of on my own. Thanks for the resources.
I was thinking about that this spring with my dogs! I really wanted to grow delphinium, but I was a little concerned that even though my pooch doesn’t have a habit of eating out of the garden, she has enjoyed a few tomatoes. I grew the delphinium anyway, but I put it in a garden she pays little attention to. I only planted two, and they’re quite small… hopefully that’s enough for me to enjoy but not so much that could make her sick.