Graham Porter’s gardening: poisonous garden plants

Mar 6 2010 by Graham Porter

IT is a sad fact of life that some of our beautiful garden plants have a nasty side to them that can cause serious problems for us humans if we do not respect them.

Of course, it is also true that many of our plants have hidden attributes in their chemistry that can be of benefit to us, if used in the right way.

Wander around the average British garden and you will almost certainly find examples from both sides of that fence – the goodies and baddies of our gardens.

In 2000, the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), produced a voluntary “code of recommended retail practice relating to the labelling of potentially harmful plants”.

Their aim was to try and help retailers and customers identify those plants that may have harmful effects if touched or ingested.

The list is divided into three categories – Category A – poisonous to eat; Category B – toxic; Category C – harmful/irritant. Download the list from www.kew.org/science/ecbot/HTA_code_list.pdf.

This list does not include any poisonous or harmful fungi.

So, if you do wander around your garden, what might you find that could cause you or your family some harm, let alone your friends, relatives and neighbours and their children, if they visit your garden?