Stacy Tornio - Plants that can kill: 101 toxic species to make you think twice

Praise for

Plants That Can Kill is a great guide for those who have pets, small children, or like to forage in the garden. Better to be safe than sorry, and Stacy Tornio's book provides just that!

Denise Schreiber, author of Eat Your Roses and national director of the Garden Writers Association

There are a lot of myths out there about which plants are poisonous. In this book, Stacy details each of the plants that can cause harm, based on level of toxicity, to help you decide exactly how much of a risk each plant might be. Each entry has a Bottom Line notation that will help you make a very informed decision about what to plant in your own garden, which is extremely useful. A must-read for every gardener!

Diane Blazek, executive director, All-America Selections and National Garden BureauNational Directors, GWA, An Association for Garden Communicators

Its important to understand the full power of the natural world. While plants can be healing to the inhabitants of this great earth, they can also be toxic. Using well-researched facts, Stacy Tornio has created an essential guide to common garden plants that can cause harmand even killso we can keep children, pets, and ourselves safe.

Stephanie Rose, creator of GardenTherapy.ca and award-winning author of Garden Made: A Year of Seasonal Projects to Beautify Your Garden and Your Life

Praise for

Stacy helps take the intimidation out of gardening. She uses her years of experience as a gardener and the editor of Birds & Blooms to help black-thumb gardeners discover the joy and satisfaction of successfully growing plants.

Melinda Myers, horticulture expert and author of Small Space Gardening

Knowledgeable? Check! Enthusiastic? Check! Practical? Check! Stacy Tornio is a passionate garden coach, teaching both new and experienced gardeners which plants to grow to ensure garden success. With Stacys guidance, novice gardeners can no longer plead black thumbs! Shell have you creating beautiful, successful gardens in no time at all!

Niki Jabbour, author of Groundbreaking Food Gardens and The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener

This great new book lays out some of the most dependable plants available for our gardens, in an clear, organized way. It takes the guess work out of gardening and will certainly help people be more successful in choosing what to grow!

Jessi Bloom, author of Free-Range Chicken Gardens and Practical PermaCulture

No green thumb? No worries! Author and former editor of Birds & Blooms magazine Stacy Tornio guides you through the garden center like a good friend, pointing out the best of the bunch. With more than 100 easy, rewarding flowers, herbs, trees, shrubs, veggies, and even houseplants to choose from, youll soon be on your way to filling your yard with beauty, your home with greenery, and your table with homegrown goodness. Stacys lively, down-to-earth writing will keep you going back for more as you grow into a confident gardener with Plants You Cant Kill.

Sally Roth, author of The Backyard Bird Feeders Bible

Stacys many years of gardening experience translates into a book that makes it super easy to learn about great hard-to-kill plants. Each plant entry has beautiful photography, easy-to-follow tips and insider information that progresses from annuals through perennials all the way to herbs and vegetables. Its like having a knowledgeable garden center employee at your fingertips 24/7. This is a great gardening book for beginners or anyone afraid of failure. Remember, its okay to fail, just try again!

Diane Blazek, executive director, All-America Selections and National Garden Bureau

In her many years of talking with readers of Birds & Blooms magazine, Stacy learned that fear of failure is one of the biggest obstacles to getting more people to garden. Her book addresses that head on by presenting beautiful, reliable plants in a simple-yet-effective way that anyone can understand, regardless of their experience level. It would make a great gift for any beginner gardener in your life.

Susan Martin, perennial plant expert

Also by Stacy Tornio:

The Secret Lives of Animals

The Truth About Nature

The Kids Outdoor Adventure Book

We Love Nature!

Project Garden

Cathys Animal Garden

Plants You Cant Kill

Copyright 2017 by Stacy Tornio

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Tornio, Stacy, author.

Title: Plants that can kill: 101 toxic species to make you think twice / Stacy Tornio.

Description: New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing, [2017].

Identifiers: LCCN 2017014101 (print) | LCCN 2017018528 (ebook) | ISBN 9781510726796 (ebook) | ISBN 9781510726789 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Poisonous plants.

Classification: LCC QK100.A1 (ebook) | LCC QK100.A1 T67 2017 (print) | DDC 581.6/59dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017014101

Cover design by Jen Ruetz

Printed in China

To my favorite redhead, Heather.
Thanks for teaching me about writing, gardening, and plant #71.

N o one associated with this book can be held responsible for you doing dumb or unwise things. This includes, but is not limited to, planting or consuming any of the plants in this book. It also includes encouraging others to plant or consume any of the plants in this book. Id like to go on record right now to say that I DO NOT support eating, drinking, or absorbing any of these plants into your body any way whatsoever. And I absolutely cant be held responsible for your actions related to these plants. If you do have concerns or think you consumed something poisonous, seek medical attention immediately or call the American Association of Poison Control Centers at 1(800) 222-1222. Always plant responsibly. Gardening should be happy, yall.

T his book wouldnt have happened without my lovely editor at Skyhorse, Nicole Frail. She came to me with the notion of the idea as a follow up to Plants You Cant Kill. We didnt know how, but we worked together to figure out the right approach to make this book a reality. Id also like to thank my agent, Uwe Stender, who first took me on as a client with a book about gardening with kids. Hes pretty much the greatest agent a writer could hope for. Please dont query him so he can spend all of his time on me. Finally, thanks to Denise Schreiber, author of