I'm happy to announce we are expecting a baby boy next spring! As a plant addict, that means I have to give up the spare room I've been using to shelter my houseplants from the cats and Nelumbo Jr.
I mostly worry about the mess they could cause if they got ahold of some potting soil, but there's also the concern that the plants could be poisonous. I do not use pesticides in the house anymore, but of course some plants can be toxic themselves. Poinsettias are the poisonous plants that come to mind this time of year, but there are other poisonous plants common to many households. I found a great website that lists plants poisonous for children. It's worth taking a look. I was surprised to discover, for example, that the green berries of Lantana can be fatal to children! I've already caught Nelumbo Jr. trying to pick Nandina berries, so it's a good thing to be aware of. (Nandina seems to have only slight toxic properties, by the way.)
So when the need to fiddle with plants arises this winter, I'll be focusing on creating terrariums. These are great because they reduce the amount of watering I'll have to do around the house. With a baby and a toddler, I know that watering houseplants will be far from the top of my priority list next year. I have a large ornamental terrarium that I keep inside, and I have room in the garage to house more plants in converted aquariums and assorted glass containers.
On a related note, my husband vetoed several botanical names when we picked out a name for our daughter (i.e. Holly, Jasmine, Lily). Any ideas for boy names? Besides "Forrest", I can't think of any.
