Something Evil Doth Groweth in My Garden!

After having read Amy Stewart's fascinating and chilling book, "Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities," I agree with her that just because something is growing in the garden or out in the wild, it may not be one of mother nature's innocent creations. Although my grandchildren are learning the joys of gardening, I do not want them to naively trust plants by gnoshing on an unfamiliar berry or leaf or touching some strange plant.

While my grandson Samokai and I were harvesting some early sweet cherries and other orchard goodies, I spotted a healthy stand of stinging nettles (Urtica doica) and decided it was the perfect "teachable moment." I explained how his cousin Nicholas had touched such a plant and that he cried from the resulting pain. Samokai's eyes grew wide and asked, "Why did the plant hurt Nicholas?" I replied that although the pretty green, soft, heart-shaped leaves look harmless, they have tiny hairs on their leaves and stems and when touched those hair tips come off like needles and inject chemicals that sting and cause pain. Even after washing Nicho's hands off with cool water, his hands still hurt for several hours. Sympathetic to his cousin's plight and understanding what harm a plant can do, Samokai promised never to touch or eat an unknown plant unless he knew it was safe to do so. Now if only the 68,000 people who are poisoned by plants annually had learned that sometimes something evil doth groweth in the garden!