Boy, talk about scary e-mail! I just received notice of the "12 Deadliest Garden Plants." I was really surprised to see hydrangea on the list. Not only do I have a brightly blooming pot-full on my patio where my youngest grandchildren often play when they visit, but hydrangeas are staples in their very own pretty backyard.
Sooooo, I'm glad to have found the following references, among others that give me some breathing room. The Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia says "All parts of hydrangeas may cause mild stomach upset if ingested; contact with the foliage may aggravate skin allergies." Not so scary after all, right? Still, worth noting from elsewhere that other garden favorites of mine, azalea and iris, are also considered to be toxic plants, as in:
"Most people know about the very poisonous plants like mistletoe, deadly nightshade and poison ivy, but as a safety precaution, you should also know about other toxic plants like iris, azalea and hydrangea which might not necessarily kill, but could still poison someone and make them feel very ill. Paradoxically, many potentially harmful plants, including Irises, are also considered to have healing properties."
Talk about that old saying, "what doesn't cure you kills you," which now that I've looked it up, apparently exists only in my mind, but at least I've found my point in this quotation:
"Some cures are worse than the dangers they combat." — Lucius Annaeus Seneca
All this has me thinking, wouldn't it be nice if everybody knew that about Obamacare?
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