Pick Your Poison
Jan 27, 2023
If you were bored on a sunny afternoon on a random Tuesday, and lived in the northern United Kingdom (okay, so, relatively sunny), you might decide to go visit Hadrian’s Wall in Haltwhistle, or check out one of the museums in York, or maybe take a delightful little stroll through the Alnwick Poison Garden. 🌱
Wait, umm… what? 🤨
In Northumberland, England, on the border of Scotland, lies a breathtaking 14-acre stretch of gardens at Alnwick Castle. Fun Fact: You probably already know this castle! Alnwick Castle was Hogwarts for the first two Harry Potter movies! 🏰
Looking around at the gorgeous landscape, manicured hedges and fascinating water features, you would never believe that less than 30 years ago, the space was nothing but unkept rows of Christmas Trees. While the gardens at Alnwick had always been historically well-kept by the Dukes of Northumberland, they had fallen into disrepair after World War II and had officially closed by 1950.
In 1995, a woman named Jane Percy became Duchess of Northumberland, inheriting Alnwick Castle with her husband, and taking up the project of redeveloping and breathing new life into the Alnwick Gardens. Hiring some of the best landscape designers and architects, Percy was able to reopen the Alnwick Gardens to the public in 2006, featuring an enormous treehouse (it’s the largest in the world!), decorative gates, rows upon rows of fragrant roses, majestic fountains and… you guessed it… the Poison Garden. ☠️
Within the expansive main gardens, locked behind a tall black iron gate and under a large titular sign, lies a smaller span of land that grows over 100 varieties of plants. And every single one of them is deadly. Signs adorn the entirety of this toxic garden warning guests not to touch, taste or smell anything and reminding them that “ ☠️ These Plants Can Kill ☠️” (complete with skull and crossbones motifs). A professional guide, who dresses in a full hazmat suit for their own safety, is required to lead visitors along the Garden’s tour. This doesn’t stop a few visitors now and then from fainting after inhaling toxic fumes, however.
The Poison Garden, while much smaller and much less visually magnificent than the main gardens, has become the main attraction at Alnwick, hosting about 600,000 visitors each year who are drawn to the macabre, yet fascinatingly unique, attraction.
Duchess Percy was determined to create something interesting and different, and while she was originally inspired to create an apothecary garden, filled with herbal remedies, she became enthralled with the idea of creating a garden that could kill, rather than heal, after visiting the Medici Poison Garden in Italy. So, her work began in 2005 to bring in the over 100 varieties of deadly trees and plants that now grow on the site; some of which being plants domestic to Northern England that most residents don’t even realize are poisonous. Laurel, for one, is used to create cyanide, which can kill someone instantly. It is also a common hedge to find while walking around the English countryside.
Some of the deadly species of plants you can find in the Poison Garden are:
Rhubarb: while the stalk of the rhubarb plant is commonly consumed, the leaves of this plant are incredibly poisonous and can cause kidney failure.
Belladonna/Nightshade: a green plant with dark, purplish-black berries. The roots, leaves and berries of Belladonna are all highly toxic and can cause hallucinations and respiratory failure.
Foxglove: a beautiful plant with trumpet-like flowers; affects the heart, causing irregular or slowed heartbeat and vomiting.
Ricinis: also known as the castor bean or castor oil plant; can create the Ricin poison; toxic symptoms present within a few hours after ingestion; is generally fatal unless the ingested parts of the plant can be removed from the body before it begins to be metabolized.
Manchineel Trees: milky-white sap from this tree causes blistering and burns to the skin on contact; smoke from burning any part of the tree is toxic and can cause eye damage; its fruit, which is also toxic, strongly resembles green apples.
British Yew Trees: the leaves of this tree are toxic and its red berries and seeds are highly poisonous; causes cardiac arrest and shock.
Monkshood/Wolfsbane: a pretty, purple flower with trumpet-like blooms; excretes neurotoxins and should not be handled without gloves; causes respiratory and cardiac issues; can kill instantly.
Daffodils: Yellow and/or white flower with trumpet-like center; causes extreme stomach issues and is poisonous to humans and animals when ingested.
One of the Duchess’ objectives for the Garden is to promote drug awareness among children. The garden grows several different drugs within its grounds including coca (cocaine), cannabis, opium poppies (which produces narcotics like morphine, heroine and codeine) and strychnine. (Some of these drugs are actually grown behind cages!) By piquing their interest in the Garden’s many deadly plants, the Duchess believes you can also inherently teach children about the dangers of the drugs they’re learning about.
Guided tours of the Poison Garden run every 20-30 minutes during the day and last about a half hour. The price of the admission to this smaller garden is included in the ticket cost of entry into the main Alnwick Gardens. And if you’re bored while waiting for the next guided Poison Garden tour, there’s a small “witches hut” right outside its gates, which is full of its own curiosities.
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The Poison Garden of Alnwick, ladies and gents! Sounds like a trip! Who’s coming with me? 😍
Have a great weekend, my fronds🪴🙃 , and may your garden be nice and normal and… you know… not deadly. Unless you’re a Duchess with a castle and 14 acres of land and you want it to be. Then I guess it’s cool. 🤷♀️ 😉 🌱 ☠️
[🌱🧡DT]