{"id":1811,"date":"2025-02-15T17:55:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T17:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/?p=1811"},"modified":"2025-02-15T17:55:21","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T17:55:21","slug":"beware-of-your-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware Of Your Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We recently visited the poison garden at Alnwick Castle which contains some of the most toxic plants in existence.&nbsp; You really don\u2019t want to know what the Australian Gypie-Gypie plant does to you, suffice to say that the gardeners wear hazmat suits whilst tending it.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1812\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Solanum atropurpureum<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>This started me thinking about the plants in my own garden and it\u2019s surprising just how many there are that are toxic or at least unpleasant for humans and animals.&nbsp; We all know about poisonous laburnum seeds and the castor oil plant (<em>Ricinus communis<\/em>) but many other common plants are also dangerous. The following are just a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every part of one of our winter\/spring favourites, Hellebores, is poisonous for humans and dogs.&nbsp; If eaten it can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, drooling, lethargy, delirium and in extreme cases death.&nbsp; The sap is also a skin irritant.&nbsp; In the past it was used as a dangerous remedy for worms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lily of the valley (<em>Convallaria majalis),<\/em> contains a dangerous compound called cardiac glycosides and Rhubarb has poisonous leaves which cause kidney malfunction.&nbsp; The leaves of <em>Hydrangea macrophylla<\/em> contain cyanide although you would have to eat a lot to become ill.&nbsp; It is toxic for cats, dogs and horses although strangely enough not for deer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Prunus lusitanica<\/em>, Portuguese laurel is a common hedging plant.&nbsp; The leaves and fruit are toxic if ingested.&nbsp; The leaves contain cyanide which is released into the atmosphere if cut, bruised or burned. Victorian butterfly collectors created death jars by placing a cut leaf in a jar with the insect and replacing the lid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Aconitum<\/em>, common names Monkshood and Wolfbane, is one of my favourite flowers. In the past it has been used as a poison for weapons and wolves.&nbsp; Criminals were dispatched with an extract from <em>Aconitum lycoctonum<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year I knowingly grew from seed toxic <a><em>Solanum atropurpureum<\/em> <\/a>after seeing it at Hidcote. I mean how can you not when you learn one of its common names is \u2018Malevolence\u2019!&nbsp; It\u2019s an extremely prickly black stemmed plant with green tomato-looking fruits.&nbsp; I did however plant it well back in a border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The RHS puts all the above horrors into perspective: \u2018Serious poisoning by plants is very uncommon in the UK. Some garden plants present a hazard but the risk of severe poisoning, skin reaction or allergy is generally low.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We all teach our children not to eat anything from our ornamental gardens and should be cautious about handling some plants.&nbsp; It\u2019s wise to be aware of what we\u2019re growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Nicky Pratt<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We recently visited the poison garden at Alnwick Castle which contains some of the most toxic plants in existence.&nbsp; You really don\u2019t want to know what the Australian Gypie-Gypie plant does to you, suffice to say that the gardeners wear hazmat suits whilst tending it. This started me thinking about the plants in my own &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Beware Of Your Garden<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-member-articles"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Beware Of Your Garden - Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beware Of Your Garden - Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We recently visited the poison garden at Alnwick Castle which contains some of the most toxic plants in existence.&nbsp; You really don\u2019t want to know what the Australian Gypie-Gypie plant does to you, suffice to say that the gardeners wear hazmat suits whilst tending it. This started me thinking about the plants in my own &hellip; Continue reading Beware Of Your Garden\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-15T17:55:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-15T17:55:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/person\/27d5a041ae9dedf0834dae931481557f\"},\"headline\":\"Beware Of Your Garden\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-15T17:55:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-15T17:55:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/\"},\"wordCount\":441,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Member Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/\",\"name\":\"Beware Of Your Garden - Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-15T17:55:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-15T17:55:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":666},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Beware Of Your Garden\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/\",\"name\":\"Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association\",\"description\":\"For enthusiastic gardeners &amp; allotmenteers based in West Oxfordshire\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cropped-IMG_3025.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cropped-IMG_3025.jpeg\",\"width\":248,\"height\":228,\"caption\":\"Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/person\/27d5a041ae9dedf0834dae931481557f\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b83a834d2267626ec8beffc743a7cdbd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b83a834d2267626ec8beffc743a7cdbd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Beware Of Your Garden - Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Beware Of Your Garden - Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association","og_description":"We recently visited the poison garden at Alnwick Castle which contains some of the most toxic plants in existence.&nbsp; You really don\u2019t want to know what the Australian Gypie-Gypie plant does to you, suffice to say that the gardeners wear hazmat suits whilst tending it. This started me thinking about the plants in my own &hellip; Continue reading Beware Of Your Garden","og_url":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/","og_site_name":"Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association","article_published_time":"2025-02-15T17:55:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-15T17:55:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":666,"url":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/person\/27d5a041ae9dedf0834dae931481557f"},"headline":"Beware Of Your Garden","datePublished":"2025-02-15T17:55:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-15T17:55:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/"},"wordCount":441,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg","articleSection":["Member Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/","url":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/","name":"Beware Of Your Garden - Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-15T17:55:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-15T17:55:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Solanum-atropurpureum.jpg","width":500,"height":666},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/member-articles\/beware-of-your-garden\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Beware Of Your Garden"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/","name":"Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association","description":"For enthusiastic gardeners &amp; allotmenteers based in West Oxfordshire","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#organization","name":"Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association","url":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cropped-IMG_3025.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cropped-IMG_3025.jpeg","width":248,"height":228,"caption":"Milton Under Wychwood Allotments &amp; Gardens Association"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/person\/27d5a041ae9dedf0834dae931481557f","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b83a834d2267626ec8beffc743a7cdbd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b83a834d2267626ec8beffc743a7cdbd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome"],"url":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1813,"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1811\/revisions\/1813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muwaga.com\/welcome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}