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Toddler and laburnum
On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 22:03:25 +0100, "Rosie" wrote:
I have a toddler and a medium-sized laburnum tree at the back of my garden, which seems to produce a lot of seeds. How poisonous are these seeds? They do seem to get everywhere. Would I be best off getting rid of the tree? (Obviously she isn't left to wander around the garden by herself, but she does like shoving things in her mouth.) All parts of the laburnum are poisonous - though most cases of poisoning come from children eating the unripened seed pods, which resemble small pea pods. Having said that, I've raised two toddlers so far with a laburnum in the garden - in fact it's one of the trees the kids climb up - without any incident. I've another toddler who'll be crawling round the garden this summer - and to be honest I'm far more worried about the vicious red ants we have in these parts, they pack one hell of a painful sting. There are many hazards in the garden - ranging from poisonous plants, fungi, animal and bird droppings etc, but even toddlers will learn quite quickly if you're on hand to administer a very stern and loud NO! Tends to result in a flood of tears, and breaks your heart, but children will soon forget the pain - and remember the message, and it's a message they'll take with them wherever they go. I have tasted both the green pod and the ripe black seed as a child - and I'm here to tell you that I really can't understand how anyone could eat any sort of quantity of the things, they're both intensely bitter. It's a fine tree, with cool foliage and fantastic yellow blooms - so it'd be a shame to lop it down. Could you not perhaps prune it back hard this year? This would cut down on the blooms, and with a suitable pair of long-handled shears you might even be able to dead head the blooms ( if any ). Ultimately though, it IS a poisonous plant - and I doubt many parents would blame you if you preferred not to live with the risk. Regards, -- Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk |
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