Garden in Paradise

Many have been tempted and fallen victim to deadly beauty.  Just ask Adam and Eve who were tempted by the vivid red color and the promise of succulent juice from a shiny ripe apple!   Walt Disney's Snow White fell victim to the lure of the same fruit. Sad but true.  Many of us are blinded by beauty, unable to see past it's lure until it's too late.  Does that mean all beautiful things are deadly?!  Of course not.  But...beware of those that are!!! 




Another nasty beauty is the RHODODENDRON, a stalky tree-like evergreen shrub with gorgeous blooms.  In fact, it's the state flower of Washington.  Unfortunately, all parts of this one are deadly, as well as it's relative, the AZALEA.  The toxins from these beauties cause severe pain, vomiting, progressive paralyis, coma and eventual death.  Oh boy!
 

Next on the list, an unusual, graceful bloom is to blame...the ANGEL'S TRUMPET (datura stramonium).  It's other names include JIMSON WEED, STINK WEED, LOCO WEED and DEVIL'S SNARE.  Loco weed is the best description as this lovely specimen is a potent hallucinogen.  However, a small "mistake" can lead to a fatal overdose!  Just say "no" to drugs!!!



Another unassuming deadly beast is the WATER HEMLOCK.  Again, I am obviously naive.  Although I've certainly heard of hemlock, I never knew it was the pretty, lacy "weed" I grew up with.  The only reason I didn't include it in my mother's bouquets more often is because it wilted so quickly after it was picked from the side of the road.  Good Lord!!!  According to the USDA, the water hemlock, or poison parsnip, is the "most violently toxic plant in North America".  Thankfully, the flowers and stems are safe but the stalky roots are the problem.  Grand mal seizures are followed by quick death if even a tiny amount of the deadly sap contained in the roots is consumed.  This is not nice!


You may have heard of MONKSHOOD.  No?!  Well you've certainly heard of WOLFSBANE, another name for the pretty purple flowering plant.  It was apparently the bane of wolves as it was once effectively used by farmers to extermination wolves.  It's also known as the blue rocket and devil's helmet.


Another pretty purple bloom is the NIGHTSHADE, or devil's cherry, black cherry, great morel and belladonna.  After digesting even a small amount of the plant, one loses their voice followed by respiratory trouble and convulsions.  Apparently, the fruit is so sweet that it's a common lure, especially to small children, although many animals seem to be immune.  The good news is that this one is actually treatable if caught quickly enough.  WHEW!!


A plant that I am not personally familiar with, thankfully, is the BUSHMAN'S POISON, although I've certainly heard of it's usage.  This plant is famously used by the Khoisan of South Africa to poison the tips of their arrows.  The plant apparently produces lovely aromatic flowers and a yummy plum-like berry, but also produces a fatal milky sap.  Strangly enough, the leaves have powerful medicinal properties.  Hmmmm!



Another unfamiliar plant to me is the SNAKEROOT, although it is apparently common in North America.  It displays attractive fluffly white blooms which are filled with the toxin tremetol, along with the plant's stems.  Cattle and sheep consume the tempting foliage which then creates toxic milk other animal products ingested by humans (called milk sickness or tremetol poisoning).  History reports that Abraham Lincoln's mother was a victim of milk sickness.  No one is safe!


One last flowering shrub on my list is the DAPHNE, or SPURGE LAUREL, a pretty ornamental producing attractive, fragrant blooms and lovely evergreen foliage.  However lovely, it's also highly poisonous, containing the toxin mezerein.  Consuming the leaves or fruit will cause violent vomiting, internal bleeding, coma and death.  UGH!!




Now on to berries.  I can identify more with these deadly plants as I was raised to believe that every berry except the strawberry, blueberry, blackberry and raspberry are deadly, never to be touched!  The first on my list is a common North American plant known as the CHOKECHERRY or WILD CHERRY.  It displays large sprays of tiny white flowers and tiny cherry fruits.  The plant's woody stalks and leaves are the fatal part of this plant, causing respiratory failure, choking and asphyxiation.  Thus the appropriate name chokecherry.  Cough!  Cough!


As a child living and traveling in Europe, I vividly remember the ENGLISH YEW, or taxus baccata.  This is actually one of the deadliest trees on the planet!!  All parts of the tree except the flesh of the berries are poisonous causing convulsions and paralysis.  Although highly diluted portions have held their place in medical history, modern medicine deems it too dangerous to use in medical practices as the yew acts rapidly and there is no antidote!!!



One tree that we may have all heard of is the STRYCHNINE TREE which bears fruit containing lethal levels of strychnine and brucine.  History reports that Cleopatra forced servants to consume the fruit to see how they would die as she contemplated her own suicide.  She apparently decided that this was not the way to go as is causes a severly agonizing end.  In my opinion, this is what a typical poisonous berry looks like.




Stay with me...only two more on my list!


Surprisingly, the CASTOR BEAN holds a toxin that is apparently the DEADLIEST POISON ON EARTH.  REALLY?!?!?!  How many of us have consumed castor oil as a medicinal (although disgusting)?!?!   However, it's the bean that is toxic causing an adult to die within minutes!  Castor oil itself is safe once the lethal compound ricin is removed.  However, I'll ignore that part and use the excuse that "it's poisonous" every time castor oil is suggested as a remedy.  So Gross!!


Last, but certainly not least, is the striking ROSARY PEA.  Don't be fooled by its name...praying only occurs with this pious plant when certain death comes knocking!  Honestly, I just found out about this legume last week from my Photo Friday post when my friend Floridagirl of Peace in the Valley told me its name.  I was amazed by it's pretty little red berries with decidely black tips, like someone dipped red beads in black paint.  This pretty little bean contains the lectin, abrin, which is one of the most fatal toxins on earth.  If chewed and swallowed, death follows quickly.  My friend Lotusleaf also told me that these "peas" are used by goldsmiths as a weight measure since they all weigh the same. WEIRD!

Wow!  What an uplifting post!!!  HA!!!  I just needed to share my agony of eliminating my landscape of the pretty, deadly OLEANDER. 

Yes, it's time again for me to make my annual contribution to Uncle Sam.  The moment of truth is at hand.  To help ease the pain of it all, I'd go out and garden.  But alas, I can't or I won't get my taxes filed.  So I must bite the bullet and get on with it. 

On the bright side, I could receive a fantastic refund! $$$$$ Perhaps I've paid to much already, and my good Uncle will smile at me while returning some of my hard earned cash!  Let's see...what I could do with a little extra change...

The pretty new echinaceas I've had my eye on would be nice. (Available at Heronswood Nursery)










Well, we'll see.  For now, I must go work with the numbers.  But to keep me smiling, I'll share a few quotables...

"On my income tax 1040 it says 'Check this box if you are blind.' I wanted to put a check mark about three inches away." - Tom Lehrer


" I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is—I could be just as proud for half the money." - Arthur Godfrey


"Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut save you thirty cents?" - Peg Bracken

"Worried about an IRS audit? Avoid what's called a red flag. That's something the IRS always looks for. For example, say you have some money left in your bank account after paying taxes. That's a red flag." - Jay Leno

I'm almost too late, but I still have time to participate in my VERY FIRST Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!!!  So, what's growing in my garden today?  Weeds, mostly. Although some of my plants are bouncing back, they're taking their time. So my blooms today will include a few pretty little weeds. Hope you don't mind!

This pretty little blue flower is some type of clover, I believe. I like the "tail" at the tip of each petal.

My favorite this time of year...Indian Blanket Flower...so pretty against the brown shades! It makes a lovely welcome to my front entrance.


My sweet flowers cheer me while I keep watch to see which plants will bounce back from the freeze and which will need to be replaced.  Thank you, February blooms!