THE POISON GARDEN website 
Pontifications on Poison
Being some ramblings on events associated with poisonous plants.
Sunday 21st July 2013
Summer in My Poison Garden
It's that time of year when some plants are still displaying colourful flowers while others have converted those flowers into fruit. In some cases, the same plant is displaying these two stages.
The Digitalis, foxglove, tends to have flowers at the top of its spike while seed is set lower down.
Whereas Aconitum napellus, monkshood, tends to have some spikes full of seeds while others are still in full flower.
I decided, earlier this year, not to have any Nicotiana sylvestris, woodland tobacco, this summer but then, at a charity event, I saw a tray of the short variety adapted for border edges and thought they were worth the money. They are doing very well.
Those flowers seem to last for some while whereas the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy, forms its seed capsule very soon after receiving the attention of the pollinators.
The Ricinus communis, castor oil plant, in the local town centre are starting to flower but mine are still occupied putting on new leaves.
The same is true of my Atropa belladonna, deadly nightshade. Some of them still have flowers...
...while elsewhere the unripe green berries are appearing.
The Actaea spicata, baneberry, however, leads the way with its fully ripe berries looking rather attractive.
Looks aren't everything, however, and, as I just confirmed, the flesh of the berry is extremely bitter.