Pretty but poisonous!

Mum's garden still has some lovely colour and inbetween the heavy showers I was able to take some photos.

This Cotinus is one of my favourite shrubs. The colour is great, but comes into its own in autumn when the red becomes even more vivid. This photo shows how lovely it is even before that autumn splash.

Mum's Begonias had a shaky start this year, but after nursing them through by potting them on gradually, they have really made a beautiful late splash of colour.

This young Goldfinch was still begging food from its parent on Mum's feeders. It will have to look after itself pretty soon though!

This Aconitum (common name of Monkshood) is a very pretty but very poisonous plant. I looked up in Flora Britannica by Richard Mabey (which is a great book to dip into) to see what it says about the plant. It may be a native to Britain, particularly in the South West and here is a quote from the book to demonstrate its poisonous properties.

"Even skin contact can be dangerous. In 1993, there was an epidemic of poisoning at a florist's in Wiltshire. A flower seller was treated for heart palpitations in intensive care after handling bunches of a poisonous flower.....staff at a flower shop in Salisbury suffered shooting pains after poison from a monkshood entered their bloodstreams. The shop's owner bought 150 bunches from a wholesaler, who has now withdrawn them. 'I wondered what was wrong - all of a sudden everyone was lethargic and getting pains.' "

I think I'll take care when handling these plants for my Mum!