Forget about The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett which is full of non-lethal and ultimately heart-warming mysteries and surprises. This other Poison Garden is chock full of dark and mysterious things that can literally kill you! Read on as CryptoVille investigates what’s inside this mysterious enclosure.

Located in Alnwick, Northumberland, UK, the Alnwick Garden hosts a selection of gardens for visitors to stroll through and admire the glories of nature. But one of the gardens, The Poison Garden, is the one that caught my attention.

No one is allowed into the Poison Garden without a tour guide to accompany them. Some of the plants living there can kill or at least sicken you severely by merely touching their leaves or smelling them, and almost certainly, by tasting them.

Altogether there are around 100 plants living there that are described as plants that “are toxic, intoxicating, and narcotic.”  It’s no wonder the garden is enclosed behind 16^th Century Venetian black-iron gates and that it’s only opened for guided tours.

The caretakers have reported that occasionally someone will faint due to inhaling toxic fumes as they stroll through the garden!

What You’ll Find

Here are some examples of the plants you’ll find in The Poison Garden:

• Atropa belladonna which will kill you. Four berries are enough to kill a child.
• Datura which will put you to sleep forever. Common name Angel’s Trumpet.
• Aconitine (monkshood) which will kill you. The entire plant is poisonous.
• Laurel will produce cyanide which will kill you.
• Giant Hogweed will burn your skin badly & give you blisters up to 7 years after that.

The head gardener of the Poison Garden, Trevor Jones, said that they have around 95 species of poisonous plants, and are actively collecting other specimens. He says a lot of people might have some of these plants in their own cottage gardens without realizing how dangerous they are.

The plants exhibited in this garden aren’t just native to England. They come from around the world and include plants such as tobacco, cocaine, the opium poppy (Papver somniferum), cannabis, and magic mushrooms. There is also a tree from Southeast Asia, the strychnine tree. Its Latin name is Nux Vomica. Note to self:  it’s probably best to avoid anything that has vomit as part of its scientific name.

Whence it Sprang

The idea for a Poison Garden came from the Duchess of Northumberland, Lady Jane Percy. She and her husband inherited the property in 1995 only to find that the 12-acre walled garden had fallen into wrack and ruin. After visiting Italy where she encountered the Medici poison garden, she thought she’d like to create one as well. The Duchess thought it would be more interesting than an herb garden.

I was bemused to read (see references at the end of this article) that the Duchess has an “apparent” fascination with death. They point to her taxidermy collection as further proof. However, she says that she hopes to educate people, especially the young, as to the dangers and pitfalls of dealing with these many toxic plants.

Then again, regarding one of her favorite plants, the South American Brugmansia Datura (Angel’s Trumpet), she said in an article for Smithsonian Magazine, “It’s an amazing aphrodisiac before it kills you. … It’s an amazing way to die because it’s quite pain-free. A great killer is usually an incredible aphrodisiac.”

I wonder if Agatha Christie would approve. 😉

 

 

 

 

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References

https://www.alnwickgarden.com/the-garden/poison-garden/

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/beware-the-deadly-beauty-of-the-poison-garden-in-north-englands-alnwick-garden/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/step-inside-worlds-most-dangerous-garden-if-you-dare-180952635/