Dana's Garden

Although Ozzie hasn't 'coughed' once since Monday (including when he was at the vet) the presumption is that he is still contagious, so we've decided that discretion is the better part of valor when it comes to having Blake at our house. We are leaving him at home by himself and turning up in the afternoon to take him for a walk. Jim is out of town tonight so I decided to spend some time with Blake after I took him for his walk. He's sound asleep and I'm sitting outside admiring Dana's beautiful garden. I'll go home and make dinner and OilMan will bring Blake to our house and spend the night with him in the guest room. 

It is interesting how some conditions can become quite a mystery. Skin rashes are certainly one. The dermatologist was absolutely certain that I have a contact dermatitis, but even she wouldn't hazard a guess as to what caused it. I assumed it was poison oak because there is so much of it around here, but this morning a woman came to class with the exact same rash in the exact same places as mine. She thinks it is from euphorbia which she was pulling out of her garden.

Because Dana's dog Rudy ate euphorbia, I knew it was poisonous if ingested. It's filled with latex in the form of a white, milky sap which is not water soluble. It grows like a weed here, takes many different forms and can be quite pretty. The kind we had wasn't that pretty once the bloom dried up, so after Rudy had to be treated at the emergency vet, we pulled ill of ours out.

We do, however, have a marvelous grevillea plant which also comes in a million different shapes and sizes and is related to protea. It was looking more than a little bit overgrown, so I pruned it last week. I did notice that it also has a milky sap....

After talking to Jane today after class, I looked up grevillea and lo and behold, here is what I read on the Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service: Allergic contact dermatitis may result in sensitive individuals. Blisters may develop 2-3 days after contact. Hairs on the leaves may be responsible for these reactions.

There follows a list of plants with toxicity levels from 1 to 4
The list is extensive and probably includes many plants found in most of our gardens. This is especially true if they are ingested by pets or children. If you're curious, you can find it here

My only recommendations are wear gloves in the garden, and don't eat your plants!