ᐅ Garden Photos Chat Corner

It is always a matter of balance. Keeping young children away from hazards is certainly correct. How much worry is really necessary is open to debate. A pond in the garden is significantly more dangerous than any poisonous plant. Even a bathtub or staircase poses a greater risk. In Germany, 1-3 people die each year from poisonings, including mushroom poisoning. Fifteen to twenty deaths are caused by wasp stings. Fear is linked to imagination and is often irrational.

Wisteria seeds taste very bitter (based on experience) and, when chewed, can be dangerous to young children if they ingest around 10 seeds. However, this would have to happen first. Not having wisteria naturally reduces the risk further, and there is no doubt about that.

I consider raw beans to be more dangerous than leaves.
There is ivy—skin contact alone can be enough.
You have to weigh the risks.

I am allergic to ivy. I just didn’t know it until I spent several hours removing old ivy in sunlight (the sun makes it worse). I wore gloves and a jacket. A few hours later, my face and hands were swollen, red, and itchy, followed by countless small blisters mainly on my hands and three weeks of severe, sleep-depriving itching. After the skin peeled, it finally cleared up. In the meantime, I even had to see a doctor because of it. Really nasty stuff. And you can’t get rid of it easily.

I find ivy absolutely beautiful! However, I only use it in pots in the garden, without contact with the ground, because I consider its growth too risky (especially combined with the potential damage to plaster).

It's not just about the food!
Our child hardly eats any vegetables or fruit and probably would never put any greens in their mouth.
But: children "cook" soups and stuff like that. At kindergarten all the time, and she used to do that in our old garden as well. And if you have greens where the plant juices already taste unpleasant when getting from the fingers to the mouth... well, everyone has to decide for themselves.

I'm currently considering creating a swamp bed or a small pond. Despite neighboring children – the area won’t be bigger than a balcony flower box.

@Müllerin
Are you talking about my daughter?
Be careful with a constructed wetland; you don't want to end up breeding mosquitoes.