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Seven seemingly innocent garden plants that can harm your health

Got a green thumb? While you may find working in your garden a relaxing escape every spring and summer, if you have kids or pets, you should be aware of the potential dangers lurking in your colourful flower beds.

Here are some flowers to keep curious young kids — and pets — away from:

Hydrangea

(Photo by Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
(Photo by Joanne Rathe/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

This warning from This Old House says it all: “Swallowing hydrangea is like popping a cyanide pill.”

These beautiful flower clusters contain a poison called hydragin, which will cause a series of uncomfortable symptoms — dizziness, shortness of breath, a rapid pulse — alongside a drop in blood pressure that can cause convulsions or death.

Other less-deadly symptoms include itchy skin, vomiting, weakness and sweating.

(There is an antidote for hydrangea poisoning, so seek medical help immediately.)

Signs to watch for if you suspect your cat or dog has been munching on hydrangeas: lethargy, vomiting and diarrhea.

Oleander

DeAgostini/Getty Images
DeAgostini/Getty Images

If you have little ones or pets, consider avoiding planting these pretty warm-climate shrubs altogether. A single leaf contains enough toxins to be lethal to a baby or small child, and just inhaling smoke from a burning plant can mean trouble. (Touching the sap can also result in skin irritation.)

(There was even a movie about it. Kind of.)

Doctors might attempt to induce vomiting, pump your stomach, absorb the toxin with ingested charcoal, and get your heartbeat under control with prescribed medications should you accidentally consume any of this plant.

An expensive antidote is available for pets in some cases.

Chrysanthemum

(Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)
(Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)

Gardeners often plant these popular flowers to keep rabbits away. Just make sure you keep your kids away, too. While not as dangerous as other plants on this list, they can create an itchy, puffy, allergy-like reaction that might require a doctor’s attention.

Pets who dine on mums can expect to experience some mild discomfort, like vomiting and diarrhea.

Wisteria

JTB Photo/UIG via Getty Images
JTB Photo/UIG via Getty Images

This is more of a caution for Southern gardeners. According to Live Science, people have reported symptoms of nausea, cramps and diarrhea after ingesting this plant, requiring intravenous hydration and anti-nausea pills. (Some say the flowers themselves aren’t dangerous, but why take that risk?)

Daffodil

Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Images
Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Those pretty spring daffodils — particularly their bulbs — are poisonous to cats and dogs and can cause drooling, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and more severe symptoms like increased heart rate and cardiac arrhythmias.

If you suspect your beloved Fido has been snacking in the flower garden, call a veterinarian or a pet poison hotline for treatment recommendations, Pet Poison Hotline recommends.

If humans consume parts of the daffodil plant, particularly the bulb, they can expect to experience some irritation to their gastrointestinal tract within the first 60 minutes. According to the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre, symptoms usually disappear after about four hours. In the meantime, rinse out the mouth and drink a glass of water or milk to soothe any burning sensations in the mouth or throat.

Lily-of-the-valley

Thinkstock
Thinkstock

Don’t be fooled by the sweet-looking bell-shaped flowers. If you (or your kids) eat a lot of it, the plant can pose a serious threat. In fact, This Old House warns that the entire plant is poisonous — even the water you place cut lily-of-the-valley flowers in can contain deadly trades of convallatoxin.

Not only will consumption of this flower likely lead to headaches, hot flashes and hallucinations (among other symptoms), it can also cause the heart to slow down, risking coma or death. Keep kids away.

The Pet Poison Hotline warns that the toxicity of lily-of-the-valley for pets can range from moderate to severe, posing a risk of seizure and death and should be treated aggressively.

Rhubarb

Thinkstock
Thinkstock

Making strawberry rhubarb pie this summer? Just make sure your little ones —and your curious pets  stay away from this famous pie plant.

(Unless it’s cooked, of course.)

Ingested in large enough quantities, raw rhubarb plant can cause a sudden drop in the body’s calcium levels, occasionally resulting in acute renal failure. So watch out for changes in thirst and urination as well as drooling, diarrhea, lethargy, weakness and bloody urine.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society, if a child or adult has consumed part of a plant you believe may be harmful, seek medical advice from a hospital emergency department immediately — and bring a sample of the plant with you. Do not try to induce vomiting.

If an animal has consumed a part of a poisonous plant, seek veterinary advice. (As with the cases of human poisoning, bring a sample of the plant with you to make a diagnosis easier.)