Spring should be arriving any day now - (hopefully?). The fresh air, the warm breeze, the perfumed smells from beautiful gardens. My gardening always starts with good intentions but usually ends up a colorful mass of weeds.

One thing I don’t often consider is the toxicity of the plants in my yard. My kids are getting older but I still have a three year old. And the attractive flowers can be very tempting. Come to think of it - she did pick all the crocuses.

I recently read an article by Chris Musser at GNMParents about a child that was poisoned from eating the flowers from an andromeda plant in her garden. The poisoning was difficult for her parents to diagnose and also very scary. Thankfully she recovered quickly and is ok.

The University of Pennsylvania has a site with information to help identify plants that are poisonous.

If you have small children, think twice about what you will plant before you put that green thumb to work this spring.