10 Harmful Plants You Should Avoid Growing In Your Garden
Gardening is a peaceful and rewarding hobby that brings beauty and tranquility to your surroundings. But not all plants are safe to grow, especially if you have children or pets around. Some plants, while lovely, are highly toxic or invasive, which means they can harm those around them or damage the health of your garden. Here’s a guide to some common plants that may look testting but should be avoided and the safer ones you can grow instead.
1.Nightshades:
Many of our common home grown herbs fall into the “poisonous” category. Yes, these winter favorites like eggplants, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes are all in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) and therefore have poisonous qualities All these plants have poison in their leaves so people and pets should avoid them nightshade leaves and stems of any plant.
2.Lily of the valley:
These beautiful earthy or rose finger additions are cardenolides with bright green foliage and small, spiky white flowers. All parts of the plant can irritate or kill people and pets, causing vomiting, abnormal heartbeat, or death.
3.Daffodil:
This pretty groundcover or bouquet filler with glossy green leaves and spikes of tiny, white dangling flowers contains cardenolides. All parts of the plant can be irritating or even fatal for people and pets, causing vomiting, irregular heart beat, or death.
4.Castor Bean:
A famous toxic plant that I grow every summer is the castor bean. Oddly, castor oil, which is extracted from the seed, has long been used for home remedies and can still be purchased in drug stores today. But consuming just one seed can kill a child as the toxic protein ricin will cause severe dehydration.
5.Rhubarb:
Rhubarb has poisonous leaves.This vegetable has tasty stems, but if you consume the leaves, you could have kidney problems.For most of us in the southeast, rhubarb is not easy to grow, as it prefers cooler temperatures year-round.
6.Rosary Pea:
Rosary peas are found in tropical areas and are often used in prayer rosaries and jewelry.lthough the seeds themselves are not harmful, they can be deadly if they are cracked, crushed, or chewed.
7.Foxglove:
Children are drawn to these bell-shaped blossoms and their berries, but they also contain a substance that is used to cure heart failure. Poison Control compares eating them to “taking an unregulated amount of cardiac drugs.”
8.Belladonna:
Belladonna is a highly poisonous plant, due to it containing toxic alkaloids like atropine, scopolamine and hyoscyamine in all parts of the plant. These compounds mess with the nervous system, which is the reason Dobbs does not recommend growing them in your garden.
9.Autumn Crocus:
Crocuses, which bloom late and bring beauty to gardens when most other flowers are fading, are a favorite of Dobbs’. Colchicine, on the other hand, is found in crocuses and can result in severe vomiting, diarrhea, kidney failure, and even death. There might not be any signs at first because the damage persists for a long time after intake.
10.Oleander:
Eating just a small portion of this plant (which has white, pink, or red flowers) can be fatal. In one case, a single letter was enough to injure a child. Symptoms of poisoning include drowsiness, slow heartbeat, and tremors.