Just how far do we go though. Do we get the government to over regulate us like they do in other parts of our lives?....

Do we have to then label the solenacea family because they include poisons in parts of the plants, you know the deadly nightshades, tomatoes, potatoes, chillies.......

Just where do we need the government to go to legislatively and where do we as people draw our own 'Duty of Care'....

A lot of plants are poisonous but many are only slightly poisonous and usually cause little or no harm when ingested.

Banning poisonous plants is not the answer IMO, but giving the consumer more relevant info on toxicity is. I'm sometimes amazed by how little people actually know about poisonous plants that are real dangers both to children and pets.

But of course, as a responsible parent and/or pet owner, one should always check the toxicity danger before one buys a certain plant.

I agree with elements of everything that are said...how is that for sitting on the fence!

I definately don't think we should 'ban' plants but should definately, as has been said, give more information on toxicology.

It is also up to us as gardeners IMO to increase awareness about children/pets and gardens.

I mean, young children and pets probably shouldn't be IN gardens, and any child without supervision probably shouldn't. More needs to be put into segregating pet areas and garden areas IMO. At the very least, toxic plants should not be planted in pet general areas.

VERY good post Stuart:)

Cheers for your comments Bare Bones, Yolanda and James.

It's an interesting discussion and one that's not likely to be solved overnight.

For the most part it would seem appropriate for home gardeners to be better educated on the dangers of their plants because at the moment it is rarely discussed. Certainly most home gardeners wouldn't be able to tell you which plants in their garden were poisonous.

Very interesting discussion. I was surprised at the number of people who wanted lists (we keep photocopies on hand at the garden center where I work part-time) of plants that would be toxic to their pets.

I know my dog, and she will only chew grass leaves (not ornamental grass, just regular lawn grass) but will taste green beans, tomatoes, etc., if she recognizes that she has eaten them before. (She didn't eat peppers from the garden until I started giving her small chunks while I was cutting them.)

Therefore, I have no qualms about plantng something with toxic leaves but I refuse to plant anything like castor beans that have fruit-like seedpods that are lethal... heaven knows that the one seedpod I would miss while deadheading would be the one she would eat!

I guess that we all have our own comfort levels with what we plant, but I agree that better labeling and more information would be great.

Oh me nerves! The neurotic worryworts of this world would have us all living in sterile, antibacterial laden bubbles, never touching anything or doing anything that might be dangerous. My exasperation isn't directed at you, Stuart, who are excellent at making us think...but I do get tired of the nervous nellies who want us to wear bike helmets, seatbelts, use antibacterial wipes every time we touch a surface, wear hats and gloves when we garden
, etc etc etc. Just more legislation and laws we don't need.

Now, I'm not advocating making a datura milkshake, but come on...if gardeners have even a small bit of sense, they will know that some plants are highly toxic, others less so; and the toxicity can vary with the species of animal, too. Yew is toxic to horses, but deer will eat it, for example, with no ill effects (sadly for those who are plagued by deer).

Dogs are much more inclined to eat something they shouldn't than cats are, according to a vet I interviewed for articles I've written in the past on toxicity in plants. Our cats seem to know what's tasty and what to avoid--they seek out the catmint and catnip and grasses, but shun things like monkshood, hellebores, lilies, euphorbia, etc.

Labelling is always an issue, and certainly plants that are more than mildly toxic ought to be labeled as such, but as we all know, there is usually a dearth of information on labels as it is. A good idea is to keep the URL for a reputable poison plant directory close at hand, as well as numbers for local poison control, just in case. If your pet chews on a plant and seems ill and you don't recognize the plant, take a sample along with you to the vet's office.

If we were to eliminate plants that are toxic, that would eliminate a lot of native species too. Then maybe all that would be left would be grass and dandelions....

Tony Spencer here. My dog is going great now. Just for the record I'm in no way a proponent of banning plants. Even though my dog nearly died I'm not even sure I'm for government imposed labeling of plants. I do however, wish I had known the danger so many plants, especially the sago posed. I guess I still chalk up the incident to lack of informing myself even though I had tried to learn as much as I could about how to raise a dog by reading books and talking to friends and professionals.

@jodi
I agree with you about the very toxic ones and in this case the sago is incredibly dangerous. It is the foundation of cyanide and even a small amount ingested can kill a human.

Any plant that can cause your dog to go into liver failure and die should at the very least have a warning on it. I watched my 5 year old lab for a week as she was hooked up to iv fluids and given all kinds of meds to protect her failing liver. I watched as they stuck a needle subcutaneously (under the skin) to give one of her meds and she would not stop bleeding from that spot. She barely had any platelets and was losing all her other clotting factors as she went into DIC. Plasma transfusions, platelets, and every liver med under the sun could not save my girl. When they had to replace an iv catheter, she soaked through two bandages with her blood because nothing would clot. The day I had to put her down, her belly was so swollen (ascites) and filled with fluid that we could not even aspirate for fear of her failure to clot. She was icteric (jaundice) over her entire body. She could barely even walk, but as soon as she saw me she would sure try as hard as she could. No one should watch their pet suffer this way. Yes you might want to put the responsibility on the gardener, but some people just are not gardeners and simply wanted a bit of scenery for their grandma with alzheimer who just likes to sit in the backyard and stare at the yard. Maybe, when my mom went to the nursery and asked the man for advice on what she could put in her backyard to make it more pretty for her dying mom, maybe he could have said this plant it great but it will kill your dog! So while I agree that one should be aware of what they are buying, I believe the nursery has just as much responsibility in informing a customer who readily admits they know nothing about gardening! Just a simple warning and my mom would never have bought those sago palms and I would still have my best friend.