pokeweed, are poisonous only at certain times of the year.
5. Because individuals can be allergic to substances that are not generally poisonous—wheat and milk, for example—when you first taste a new food, eat only a small amount.
6. Just because most members of a particular plant family are not poisonous does not mean that all are.
7. Heating or cooking in water removes many toxins, but not all.
8. Never use any flower as a garnish if it's not edible. In this day and age, when diners eat flowers, you're just asking for an accidental poisoning.
9. Make sure it's clear to children that some flowers are edible and others can make them sick.
10. And a most important point: You can cause damage and not even know it. Because a plant does not make you sick to your stomach or cause your heart to race or make you break out in a rash doesn't mean that it's safe. Some toxic reactions take time to manifest themselves; others will never be detected. For example, some plants contain chemicals that cause cancer, abortions, or birth defects; others are filled with chemicals that raise your blood pressure, rob the body of calcium, or tie up iron.
Most landscapes contain both edible and nonedible flowers. It's important for children in particular to be taught the difference. Here, edible roses, society garlic, and nasturtiums grow among the nonedible coreopsis and iris.
Below is a list of a few of the most common poisonous plants and the parts of the plants known to be dangerous.
Amaryllis Hippeastrum puniceum: Bulb
Anemone Anemone tuberosa and other spp: All
Autumn Crocus Colchicum autumnale: All
Azalea Rhododendron spp.: All
Belladonna Lily (Naked Lady) Amaryllis belladonna: Bulb
Bird-of-Paradise Strelitzia reginae: Seeds and pods
Buckeye (Horse Chestnut) Aesculus arguta and A. hippocastanum and other spp.: Seeds, flowers, and leaves
Buttercup Ranunculus spp.: All
Caladium Caladium bicolor and other spp.: All
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis: Particularly the bulb
Clematis Clematis: All
Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus: Particularly the bulb
Datura Datura mete hides: All
Delphinium Delphinium spp.: All
Foxglove Digitalis purpurea: All
Gloriosa Lily Gloriosa spp.: All
Hydrangea Hydrangea spp.: All
Iris Iris spp.: Leaves and rootstock
Jessamine Gelsemium sempervirens: All
Lantana Lantana spp.: All
Larkspur Delphinium spp.: All
Lily-of-the-Valley Convallaria majalis: All
Lupine Lupinus spp.: All
Monkshood Aconitum spp.: All
Narcissus Narcissus spp.: All
Oleander Nerium oleander: All
Poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima: All
Rhododendron Rhododendron spp.: All
Star-of-Bethlehem Ornithogalum spp.: All
Sweet Pea Lathyrus spp.: All
Tansy Tanacetum vulgare: All
Wisteria Wisteria floribunda and W. sinensis: Pods and seeds
my edible flower gardens
I always have edible flowers growing in my yard. Some (lavender, daylilies, and anise hyssop) grow in ornamental flower borders, others (rosemary and thyme) are part of my herb corner, and still others (squash and broccoli) grow in the vegetable garden. Sometimes, though, just for fun I like to try new edible flower varieties or illustrate how little room it takes to grow a selection of flowers for the kitchen, so I grow tiny gardens of only edible flowers.
It never stops amazing me how little space it takes to grow an enormous number and variety of blossoms for the table. The garden illustrated on pages 18-19 was located in my front-yard vegetable garden and included eleven species of edible flowers—enough to make a huge impact in the kitchen. I chose yellow, orange, and blue flowers. The total area of this little flower garden was six feet by twelve feet with a two-foot-wide path running through the middle, or about sixty square feet of bed space. As it turned out, half that size would have been plenty.
I live in a mild-winter area, so I planted my garden in early fall. Gardeners in USD A Zones 1 through 8 would plant this type of garden in the spring, starting many of the plants in flats six weeks before the average last frost date. I planted the mizuna, arugula, nasturtiums, and calendulas directly in the garden from seeds. The rest of the plants came from a nursery.
My front walk (right) is festooned with edible flowers, including roses, winter savory, society garlic, the species marigolds 'Lemon Gem,' and 'Empress of India' nasturtiums.
My soil is in enviable condition after twenty years of soil building, so I didn't need to add amendments at planting time. First, I laid out the beds. Because they are the tallest, I filled the back row of one bed with arugula and mizuna, a Japanese-type mustard. The middle row contained nasturtiums and calendulas, which grow to about eighteen inches. In the front row I planted the shorter pansies, violas, Johnny-jump-ups, and chives. In another bed I included strawberries, pansies, English daisies, and tulips as well as half a dozen heads of romaine and frilly red lettuces and a cluster of bunching onions—all great for salads. I could have included cilantro, fennel, radishes, bush peas, broccoli, and many more types of mustard, but I planted them in the vegetable garden that year because I like to rotate crops.
One year, I took the middle two beds out of my vegetable garden and planted them primarily with annual edible flowers. In spring, these little plots produced enough flowers to decorate a panoply of fancy platters. The drawing (above) indicates the location of the plants. In the back row, the north side of the garden (to the left), I planted the tallest plants so they would not shade the shorter species. The back row contains (top to bottom) arugula and mizuna (a Japanese mustard). The next row contains yellow nasturtiums and a chive plant, orange calendulas, and red and orange nasturtiums. The front row contains yellow and lavender violas and 'Antique' mix pansies. Across the path (top to bottom), are romaine lettuces, yellow violas, white English daisies, Alpine strawberries,
