Among the attractions at the Alnwick Garden in northern England is the infamous Poison Garden, filled with one hundred toxic and deadly plants. Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland, working with the landscape architect Jacques Wirtz created the garden as a way to educate people about plants using the gruesome stories about how they kill people.
Among the attractions at the Alnwick Garden in northern England is the infamous Poison Garden, filled with one hundred toxic and deadly plants.
Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland, working with landscape architect Jacques Wirtz created the garden as a different way to educate people using gruesome stories about how the plants kill people.
The Duchess is quoted as saying: "I felt that most children I knew would be more interested in hearing how a plant killed, how long it would take you to die if you ate it and how gruesome and painful the death might be."
Among the more common poisonous plants are laurel, ubiquitous in England’s hedges, poppies, foxgloves, belladonna, and even coca plants, whose leaves are used to make cocaine.
Tourists who come to visit the Poison Garden aren’t allowed to touch, smell, or taste any of the killer plants, which are housed behind a gate that bears the warning “These Plants Can Kill” on both doors.
Over the summer, seven people allegedly fell unconscious after inhaling fumes from the plants while visiting the garden.
Alnwick Gardens cover 14 acres, and reportedly brings in 600 thousand visitors a year.
