Death by Oleander

Last week I was helping a young lady and her little girl select plants for their garden from our nursery selection. The little girl seemed to be around 9 or 10 and a typical bored kid on an outing with mom. There were no video game or mindless DVD to entertain her gray matter. Just bored with an occasional sigh, "When are we leaving mommy?"

As we made our way through the aisles of plants we approached the White Oleanders. The mother read the sign and yelled to her child, "Don't touch these oleanders! They can kill you!."

The little girl stopped in her tracks. Her mom continued down the aisle unaware that the little one was not in tow. The girl looked at the row of plants with absolute fear. She arched her back and with eyes wide open she passed by the Oleander display slowly, not taking the plant out of her sight, as if the plant would jump to life, grab her and devour her on the spot. She passed through the nursery and I watched as she moved through the rows. She continually looked over her shoulder at the spot where the deadly Oleanders sat in wait for an unsuspecting child to pass by.

She was no longer bored. Danger had entered her day. Possibly an adventure that would highlight her story to a sibling or friend about what her day was like.

Now the truth is that Oleanders are poisonous; as are 75% of all houseplants. In fact you would have to be able to get past the very bitter taste and swallow and large amount. Children as well as pets could be at risk due to body size. From boy scouts dying from a dose of oleander bark to an urban legend dating back as far as 1886 www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/oleanders.htm the Oleander has suffered a bad reputation.

One thing is for sure. That little girl will never have one in her garden and will one day exclaim to her kiddies, "DON'T TOUCH THE OLEANDER! YOU WILL DIE!"