Child safe garden plants

Kristen - good tip, I'd never have thought of that one.

Shiney - I haven't chosen the exact spot to section off yet, but I reckon it will be about 20 metres by 10 metres. Inside that I want a sand pit of maybe 2x2metres, and a living willow shelter with a foot print around 2x2 metres.

Fidgetsmum - Bees are rarely aggressive, and even in the unlikely event that one stings my son, unless he is allergic (which is another thing that crosses my mind - how do you know if someone is allergic until its too late?) then a bee sting is no worse than a nettle sting. Wasps are more of a nuisance, but again as annoying as they are, they rarely attack. I just need to make sure they don't build their nest in his garden. The soil thing, I don't worry about that in the least to be honest. I know its full of bacteria, and when he was new born I'd have been a bit more paranoid, but now I think he has something of an immune system. I was allowed to get mucky as a kid and I'm not dead, so the it can't be too bad. Also the scientists have finally caught up with common sense, recognising that our obsession with hygiene has led to us having weak immune systems which makes us suffer more if we do pick anything up. So I'm not worried about him picking earthworms out and taste testing them There's going to be no pond or anything in his garden, at least until he is a bit bigger.

 

"sand pit of maybe 2x2metres"

First child, first house, sand pit in the ground. Usually contaminated with leaves and crud :( needed a couple of buckets of water before the sand castles would stand up.

Second house, second child, someone gave us a plastic sand pit on legs. I *hate* money spent on plastic replica kitchens, cookers, and the like. IME kids are well happy with real metal saucepans and a wooden spoon to knock nine-bells out of them with, and zero cost and no wasted non-renewables.

Anyway, the plastic sand pit was a success. Plastic stretch cover kept the crud out, smaller meant easier to wet. But actually standing at it seemed to work better than kneeling.

"how do you know if someone is allergic until its too late?"

I don't think the first time is curtains? Allergy gets progressively worse (I think)

Childhood friend of mine lost her father to a bee sting. They were on a picnic, he was with the kids when he was stung, the kids knew it was a serious situation, but not old enough to know what to do, Mother was out of earshot, Adrenaline was nearby, but no one to administer it. All very tragic.

" I think he has something of an immune system ..."

... which IMO a bit of soil will imrpove. Isn't there some research that asthma is more prevalent in children raised in clinically clean homes and, presumably, cotton wool :D

 

I believe there is. That's what I was saying, the scientists have finally caught up with what common sense has been telling ordinary folk for years.

I have this highly scientific theory. Our immune system is just itching for a fight. Tiny antibodies and white blood cells are stomping about punching walls and shouting abuse passing red blood cells. If they don't get some germs to knack soon they're going knack whatever they can find, and start picking fights with our own cells. At the end of the day an allergic reaction is just our immune system beating up friendly cells. If there are germs to beat up then that keeps the antibodies and white blood cells busy and content, so they leave everything else alone:gnthb:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/3317230/Everything-in-the-garden-isnt-lovely.html Has a few ideas about what plants you could add as well as plants to avoid.

 

Thanks, that's a really useful article. I like how when listing the plants it doesn't just group them as harmful or harmless like other articles I've read around t'internet. It actually gives some pointers as to how harmful stuff is, and in what way it gets you.

A couple of bits surprised me though. I was surprised to read that someone committed suicide by eating Foxglove leaves. I knew it was poisonous but didn't realise it was that toxic, and I thought most of the toxins were concentrated in the seeds.

I was also a bit surprised to see Clematis listed as harmless. I believe Passionflower (Passiflora Grande I think) is a Clematis, and I believe its fruits are extremely toxic. But then I could have got that wrong.

 

Passionflower is hallucinatory I believe, I came across a website once that had all those plants that have been used as such-brugmansia, of course poppies etc. And for some stupid and incomprehensible reason people have used foxgloves as a weightloss aid as it suppresses appetite-I know! Madness! It is amazing how hungry you don't feel when you are dead.

 

I read that too. In fact I've read quite a few articles and books about the world's spiritual belief systems, past and present. Many of these covered the shamanic pagan cultures and belief systems of various parts, including Britain. Some of them tried to rationalise the folk tales and legends of witchcraft. Of course, being severely frowned upon by the church during mediaeval times, not much was written down, so scholars had to guess various things based on folk tales and modern science. Passionflower often comes up as a likely ingredient of 'flying potions', with scholars suggesting (quite reasonably) that they didn't actually fly, they just hallucinated the flying. Interestingly, there are a lot of other native British plants listed as likely ingredients. One of which, Broom, is very common, narcotic and hallucinagenic, and of course the folk tales tell of witches flying on brooms.

 

Seems quite reasonable that they didn't actually fly lol.


Another interest we share then Clueless-the reading up on ancient cultures, not the hallucinatory experiences associated with them lol.

I dare say you have read Castaneda-good reading as much as anything else I thought.

 

No, I'll have to look out for it.

I once tried to read the Tibetan Book Of The Dead, but my brain threatened to explode when I tried to understand what they were saying, so I gave up. The only bit that I understood of it was saying that the way we perceive reality is reality to to us, and therefore reality is nothing more than a product of our imagination.

 

Off topic completely but, he wrote two books-that I know of anyway. I think you can get them as ebooks free somewhere on t'internet. I read something about the Tibetan BoD-apparently if we pass the three ( maybe more I can't fully remember ) tests we get to come back as another person and to choose our own parents. We get to see them actually conceiving you-yuk ( the imagery of parents "doing it"-glad I can't remember it lol).


If you can't get them off the web I can send you my copies-just post them back when you are done. It is about the use of Peyote and something else I can't remember-very good reads, although his authenticity has been questioned-but so have many others and all in all they are worth a look at.

 

The first time can easily be curtains and you won't know until it happens. As a beekeeper I was quite pleased when I got my first sting, because i did not fall to the floor. However if you dont have the allergy it can develop over time. My wife says I should avoid stings if possible and i know of beekeepers who have had to give up after developing severe allergic reactions after several years.
However I think people exaggerate the chances of being stung. beekeepers are bound to get stung at some time because at regular intervals they are opening up the brood chamber and sometimes the bees are not best pleased. However when they are out foraging on flowers they are far to busy to chase after people. Honey bees will sacrifice their life in order to protect the brood chamber but not on a whim. You would have to start the argument.
Bumblebees stinging ??- they could do so repeatedly if they wished cause their sting is not barbed. I know from personal experience that you have to poke a bumblebee to get it to sting I was rescuing a bumblebee nest and stuck my finger down a hole to see if it was the entrance. It was and there was a bee in the hole!
We have had bumblebee nests in a wall by our patio and we have eaten meals by the nest with bees flying round us.
The toddler needs to learn what not to touch and what he can watch. Bumble bees are fascinating for children to watch.

 

I once stood on top of a bumblebee nest, with a running chainsaw on my hand chopping back a blackthorn thicket. I didn't realise I was on a bee's nest until I started to notice an increasing number of them buzzing round me. I switched off the chainsaw and looked down to see loads of them coming out of a hole in the ground right by my boots. Not a single one attacked. I calmly wandered away and they calmed down. I think they just wanted to warn me off

The only time I've ever known someone I know personally to be stung by a bee was when one flew through the open window of his car while he driving, got itself trapped behind his back, and presumably panicked.

 

I have had a honey bee down my trousers - not a party trick honest!
I had been moving frames around and the bee must have dropped down my welly. Bees always climb up so I am told and this one must have taken a wrong turning and climbed up inside my trouser leg. I had finished and been watching TV for about 10 minutes when my trousers started buzzing. I looked inside to find a rather puzzled bee. She hopped on my finger and was taken back to the hive.
I did make a mental note never to wear boxer shorts when doing a hive inspection.

 

what about a thyme lawn? that might be nice?