Safety Considerations for Indoor Gardening

It is most likely that your indoor plants will be safe from harm other than the odd garden pest.  But if you have young children or pets in the home, some plants can pose a danger to them. There are many plants that are not recommended for indoors (or outdoors for that matter) when children or pets are present.  Some plants are poisonous, even fatal, if ingested.

Listed below are a few of the more dangerous plants that aren’t safe to have around if you have kids or indoor pets:

Image via WikipediaThe seeds of Rosary Pea and Castor Bean plants are lethal.  Fatalities have been reported from the ingestion of just one seed.  If a young child or cat chews on one of the leaves they are sure to get sick.  You may occasionally necklaces that are made from the seeds of this plant.  Be aware that these are not meant for children and can also cause skin irritations in adults.

Parts of the Oleander plant (the leaves and bark) are also poisonous.  It is not worth the risk to have these in the house.  Even with due diligence children or pets are bound to get into a houseplant at one point or another.  It is hard to safeguard against falling leaves or other unavoidable events.

Image via WikipediaThe bulbs of certain flowering plants are considered poisonous too.  Even if you are planning on planting the bulbs outside, be careful they are stored in a safe out of the way area that is not accessible to little heads.  The flower bulbs in question are from the Hyacinth, the Daffodil and the Narcissus flowers.

If you own any of these plants and don’t have little animals or children running around to get into them, still use caution.  Be aware of what plants in your house are potential hazards to humans.  In addition, be a considerate host or hostess and put the dangerous plants in a safe out of the way place when young visitors are coming over.