Danger in the Garden

POISONOUS PLANTS

Last week I ran over those plants to grow for a healthy lifestyle including superfoods as well as seasonal fruit and vegetables to maintain peak health all year round. The garden and allotment has the capabilities of providing us with delicious and very nutritional foods, but on the other side of the fence lurks an extremely dangerous place for the unwary.

Life on this planet has evolved as one species feeds on another, whether it is at virus level, fungus, bacteria, animal or plant. To hang onto life for as long as possible plants animals and even microbes have all developed some means of resisting becoming someone’s next meal ticket. Microbes play the numbers game with an ability to grow and mutate at an alarming speed. Animals have developed an ability for camouflage, or can run at great speed, or have horns, claws and teeth, poisonous fangs or just great strength.

Plants can’t run, shout, fight, have no claws or teeth, but they have just as much a desire for survival so, as well as thorns, they have developed a massive array of poisons in roots, bark, leaves, stems, seeds and flowers to deter predators from eating them.

We are all mostly familiar with the obvious ones such as laburnum seeds, foxgloves and giant hogweed, and we have all been stung by nettles, but when I started to look into other garden plants that could be added to the poisonous list, it amazed me that there was so many.

Danger lurks in every garden

Poisonous plants are very common in most gardens, e.g. rhododendrons, narcissi and aconites. Council parks, and shopping centres are also landscaped with a wide range of poisonous plants including laurel, snowberry, azaleas and yew trees.

Even in the home we grow hyacinths, poinsettias and oleanders which all contain toxins.

Now just in case anyone is feeling a bit off, and before you chop down the rhododendrons can we keep the dangers in perspective!

Most poisonous plants are so bitter or foul tasting that they would not normally be eaten, and some require very large quantities to be ingested before reaching a critical dose.

Apples are one of the most popular fruits, and many people just swallow the seeds. The seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides, a cyanide compound that could be fatal in high enough concentrations.  However we would need to consume massive amounts of apples and crushing the seeds before we swallow them. Some of this toxin is broken down in our digestive processes quite naturally. Other fruits in the same group also possess similar poisons in the seeds and kernels such as cherries and apricots.

The leaves of rhubarb are very toxic containing oxalic acid, but nobody would ever want to eat them, so there is little problem.

Then there is the humble spud, a member of the solanaceae family, which has some very poisonous relatives such as the deadly nightshade and datura, also known as Angel Trumpets. Tomatoes, peppers and tobacco also belong to this group, and are known to possess a wide range of alkaloids which can be addictively desirable e.g. tobacco, or fatal e.g. belladonna and datura containing tropane.

Although the potato is a staple food, the leaves, stems, seeds and those tubers that have turned green on exposure to light all contain the toxin glycoalkaloid solanine. This toxin is also present in tomato leaves, stems and unripe fruits.

Fatal Flowers

Angel Trumpets, Datura stramonium is used in summer beds and borders. It has large highly scented trumpet flowers that are at their best at night. Every part of the plant is toxic. South American native Indians use it as a drug because of its hypnotic and hallucinogenic affects. In the wrong dose this exotic plant can be fatal. Monkshood, a pretty blue perennial plant is so toxic it has been used in the past to poison enemy water supplies, arrow heads and kill wolves and bears.

Rhododendrons, aconites, narcissi, foxgloves, autumn crocus, daphne, delphinium, and calla lily are all toxic if ingested.

The toxic house plants include hyacinths, poinsettias and dumb cane which can cause immobility of the mouth and tongue, great difficulty in breathing and asphyxiation.

Toxic weeds include hemlock containing alkaloids, deadly nightshade which contains the alkaloid atropine and giant hogweed whose sap is phototoxic and can cause a severe rash and blisters.

Toxic Trees

Apart from laburnum whose seeds are particularly poisonous, most other harmful trees mainly affect farm animals. Beech, chestnut and especially oak can have an accumulative poisonous affect if normal grazing meadows are poor and trees are nearby. Some animals can become addicted to acorns or young fresh leaves in spring which are all high in tannic acid. Small quantities are fine but eating these in quantities should be positively discouraged.

The yew tree

The most toxic tree in UK has to be the yew tree. Its toxins have protected it so well from foraging predators that it can last for hundreds of years. It can also regrow from basal suckers so the original tree could have originated up to 4000 years ago. The yew was revered as a sacred tree by Greeks, Romans, North American Indians and in UK by the Celts and Druids. It was associated with immortality, rebirth, protection from evil and access to the underworld.

The growth is very slow so it produces a very fine grain making it perfect for tools, spears and hunting bows. Its extensive use in the middle ages for the long bow caused its demise as a dominant woodland tree across Europe. As every part of the tree is extremely poisonous, except the fleshy aril around the seed, it was used to add poison to the tips of arrows.

The Druids would plant them in circles to protect sacred ground and monks would use them to mark and protect the routes of their pilgrimages. Many very old yews survive in churchyards as the sacred ground is protected.

The oldest tree in Europe is the Fortingall yew near Loch Tay at over 3000 years old.

The stems, leaves and seeds contain the toxic alkaloid taxine.

Several suicides have been reported by people eating the leaves. On the positive side taxol extracted from the leaves can be used as an anti cancer treatment as it stops cell mutation. Extracts from the fleshy aril around the seeds can be used as a diuretic and laxative.

The above list is only a small sample of a long list of garden plants with toxic properties. Never take any risk with some berry that may look quite attractive and edible. Sometimes even a small amount may not be fatal, but could cause skin rashes, sickness, and heart palpitations.

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Autumn Colour

AUTUMN COLOUR

A gardeners world has always entailed a fair bit of energetic graft, but then later you reap the reward. It may be the tasty fresh produce you have grown or the beautiful plants now looking their best, or a tranquil spot in which to relax in a sunny corner. If only you could ignore that never ending voice in your sub-conscious reminding you of that weed that needs removing, the broken fence to repair, a few plants needing potted or some other job from a long line of tasks that never end. However, summer is gone, the sun lounger is in store, so  topping up the sun tan is no longer an option and a new set of tasks for autumn is reaching priority status.

However, autumn does come in a brilliant blaze of colour that can take your breath away.

When the garden is being planned and planted up in the early years, this is the time to consider good plants for autumn colour as the best are usually trees or shrubs that need careful thought to allow them space to grow. Your garden size will determine what you can select.

I usually start by looking at the space for a tree or two. They come in all sizes so it is not difficult to find an appropriate list suited for shelter, screening, blocking unpleasant eyesores, or specimens to be admired. In UK most trees, other than conifers are deciduous so there is plenty scope for colour when they lose their leaves in autumn.

Brilliant trees

If you are blessed with a large garden you can indulge in any amount of forest trees with excellent autumn colour from the scarlet red oaks, bronze beech, golden maples and sycamores, horse and sweet chestnuts, lime, poplar, and even some elm if you are happy to risk the ravages of any remaining Dutch elm disease. They will all give a brilliant display in the autumn, but do some research before you buy as there is always some outstanding varieties within any one type.

It is always hard to pick a favourite but Acer cappadocicum rubrum is hard to beat if you can find one.

There are a few deciduous conifers that put on a dazzling display in autumn. Larch is the most frequently used, but try to find space for the Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the swamp cypress, Taxodium distichum,  or the maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba. These are all large trees ultimately though some are slow growing and worthy of a place for ten years or so before they get too big.

Smaller gardens can still enjoy a wide range of good autumn colour with other species such as rowans, whitebeams, cherries, upright forms of hornbeam, liquidamber, amelanchier, maples and  birch. There are very many different forms, sizes and attributes for all of these trees, so as tree planting is for the long term do some research before making your purchase.

Dazzling shrubs

There are just as many types of shrubs as trees coming in all sizes from ground cover to small trees. They are used to form boundaries, hedges, and as ground cover to smother weeds. Some give shelter and privacy and are often mixed into shelterbelts, windbreaks and woodland fringes to add variety, interest and colour. Some types can be used on steep banks to prevent soil erosion with added benefit of providing food and shelter for wildlife.

Shrubs are often grown for their flowers or other features and good colour in autumn is a bonus. Deciduous azaleas have brilliant autumn colour as well as dazzling scented flowers in spring. Contrast them with the smoke bush, Cotinus coggygria which turns a deep scarlet.

However the plant with the widest range of brilliant colours must belong to some of the Japanese maples. I grow several of these, but Acer palmatum Sangokaku is not only fantastic in autumn but also has bright red stems that glow in the sun all winter.

Autumn is also a time when the heather garden attains bright scarlets and golds on many of the Callunas.

Then don't forget the fruit garden as the blueberries brighten up at leaf fall as well as the saskatoons and chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa. The latter is fast becoming popular as demand for quality superfood increases. The Aronia may only be known as an ornamental large shrub with almost edible berries and excellent autumn colour at present, but its fruit quality is at the highest level for anti oxidants.

My two best climbing plants for autumn colour are the  Virginian creeper, Parthenocissus and the ornamental grape vine Vitis vinifera Brant. Careful with the former as it can be very vigorous and grow very tall, and Vitis Brant is also vigorous, but easy to keep in check with pruning. It will need a support to cling to with its tendrils. Its leaves turn scarlet and gold in autumn and its fruit bunches may be small but they are delicious eaten fresh or as a juice extracted from the fruit and kept in the fridge for up to two weeks. Surplus juice can be frozen.

Now we have enjoyed some blissful moments amidst the colourful gently falling leaves our thoughts go back to the next job needing attention

Autumn tasks

Those once admired leaves have now dropped down and will need raking up, and then this is the last chance to remove weeds before winter begins. I always like to go into the winter with weed free soil. A lesson from history. Hand weeding frosted flower beds in Dawson Park in winter 1960 was not an awful lot of fun. A passing lady walking her dog in the park was overheard telling her friend, “the patients do a marvellous job “

This is also a good time to spread a mulch of rotted compost on those borders planted with bulbs. Once the bulbs begin to emerge it is too late to put any compost on without doing some damage.

Garden tables and chairs can now be brought inside to protect them from winter weather, as opportunity for an outdoor coffee break is only reserved for the hardiest of patients.

Renovate lawns

Lawns may be purely functional as a place for the dog and kids to play on, or it may be a surface of excellence maintained to the highest level. The mower usually determines the standard, ie. use a rotary for the normal suburban lawn, but a cylinder with grass box for the perfect lawn with stripes. To keep the high standard of surface, autumn renovation work is an essential routine. Any broad leaved weeds will have been removed during the growing season, but moss can be a problem in autumn. Spreading lawn sand is the normal practise, but it may contain a fast acting nitrogenous fertiliser, so I prefer to use its active ingredient sulphate of iron alone. This needs careful diluting in a watering can, then test a small patch before you water the whole lawn. It can be very strong so care is needed, but it is very effective. I also use it on any mossy path areas. The moss turns black in two days.

Scarifying the surface with a springbok rake will also remove moss and any build up of thatch.

To improve surface drainage use the garden fork to put small holes about two to three inches deep into the surface at about six to nine inch spacings. Then spread on an autumn lawn compost dressing which will have an organic slow acting fertiliser in it  This should have a higher ratio of potassium and phosphates and be low in nitrogen. Brush the compost into the holes.

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The Garden Beckons

As the season warms up, the garden has never shown so much potential. The long hard winter appears to have reduced the amount of overwintering pests and diseases, and now plants are showing a lot of promise for good crops and plenty flowers.

The Flower Garden

Summer bedding plants have now been planted out in borders, tubs and hanging baskets.

However my winter show of pansies in hanging baskets and tubs are still very colourful, so I let them finish their show grouped together on the patio beside the new summer tubs.

I rely on geraniums, and tuberous begonias for my main display, supplemented with other summer bedding plants.

I also plant out patches of spray chrysanthemums, and gladioli with sweet peas trained up some fence lines.

Roses seem to be healthier than ever this year. There is little signs of greenfly, mildew or blackspot. The last three very wet years really allowed diseases to flourish so I removed all roses than were not strong enough to fight off fungus attacks. So out went many bush and climbing roses to be replaced by stronger and more disease resisting types.

A heavy infestation of greenfly disappeared when a passing swarm of ladybirds spotted them. If only it was always that easy.

I replaced one climbing rose with a shrub rose Gertrude Jekyll then treated it as a climber. It just loves this spot on a west facing wall on the patio providing a mass of deep pink flowers with the old English rose scent wafting over the patio. Now this is summer.

Another border is ablaze with scented flag iris and oriental poppies. My garden may be my labour of love and main hobby, but my income comes from the world of art. Flowers give me inspiration to paint and the Iris just had to go onto a canvas together with some spectacular Iceland poppies both in my garden around the studio as well as on my allotment in City Road.

These new paintings on large canvases can be seen on my website on my Art Exhibition page.

The Fruit Garden

I have been a fruit lover since childhood having been weaned on the berry fields around Dundee since about nine years old, so growing raspberries and strawberries was essential to a normal way of life, but not forgetting rhubarb, previously so common in poor working class family gardens but now almost elevated to super food status. I have always loved it raw with or without a dip in the sugar bowl, or as crumble or stewed for dessert.

A short spell during my horticultural training years at our local Scottish Crops Research Institute in the sixties introduced me to a wide variety of fruit previously unknown.

We had the museum collection of apple trees from all over the world looking for a variety suitable for eastern Scotland. I also remember harvesting the first crops of Blueberries in 1967 totally unknown in the UK but now widely grown everywhere.

However, now we have global warming, my research background encourages experiments with outdoor grapes, peaches, figs and now saskatoons.

I have started picking the first of my strawberries from an early variety called Mae grown under a low polythene tunnel. These will continue until my other varieties take over including Honeoye then the late summer variety Symphony.

I am also trying a perpetual variety called Malling Opal which I hope will fruit till the end of October in the open.

Raspberry growing was always very easy in the north east of Scotland and SCRI bred an very heavy cropping and flavoursome raspberry called Glen Ample.

Then along came a root rot fungus Phytophthora. My row of Glen Ample was wiped out. Research is now under way to find a variety that can resist or at least tolerate the diseases. Fortunately the variety Autumn Bliss has not been affected by root rot so I still get raspberries from August till October.

I have replaced my Glen Ample with Cascade Delight, a new variety bred at Washington State University reputed to be fairly tolerant of root rot disease.

Time will tell.

The Allotment

The allotment of today is a place to indulge in the delights of growing whatever you want, whether vegetables, fruit, flowers or just create a garden place to relax in. Sheds with patios, and seating areas are common place, but to reach the stage of being able to wind down and relax, a wee bit of work does not go amiss. Once the crops are in and all the weeds are taken care of, (a major task) the site takes on a social function.

However do not ignore the benefits of fresh air, outdoor environment, exercise and the value of fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers.

In between socialising and weeding, my first crops of lettuce, radish, rhubarb and strawberries have all received a picking. Greenfly not controlled by ladybirds infested my blackcurrants and gooseberries, so I picked off all the young infected shoots. This will also help to push plant vigour into fruiting rather than growth.

By the middle of June my allotment is virtually all planted up.

Although most vegetables are giving good growth, my parsnips have failed. Only got four plants from a whole packet of seeds. They had better be very big as they need to last from November to April.

My ornamental border full of Iceland poppies always needs dead heading before they take over the whole allotment site and I get evicted, but what a fantastic display they give.

The Cold Greenhouse

My tomato main crop Alicante and Sweet One Million cherry tomatoes growing directly in growbags continue to need removal of sideshoots as I grow them as cordons. I am now feeding them a high potash feed at every second watering.

I also grow Black Hamburg Grapes, as well as Flame, a red seedless variety which fruits in August and does not need any fruit thinning. I have planted a new white seedless type known as Perlette but it will not fruit till next year at least.

Now the garden is sorted out I had better get a brush in my hand and get back to the easel.

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