- The Poison Garden, named the “deadliest” garden in the world, is located in Alnwick, Northumberland.
- It might easily be mistaken for a well-kept tourist destination.
- However, a deeper inspection reveals more than 100 different types of hazardous plants.
The Poison Garden, named the “deadliest” garden in the world, is located in Alnwick, Northumberland, and might easily be mistaken for a well-kept tourist destination. However, a deeper inspection reveals more than 100 different types of hazardous plants.
The Duchess of Northumberland, Jane Percy, came up with the idea for the gardens in 2005 when she recruited Jacques Wirtz, a renowned landscape designer of the French Tuileries, to change the length of land covered in Christmas trees into something novel. During one of her visits to Italy’s infamous Medici poison garden, the Duchess was inspired to construct a residence for deadly plants.
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According to the garden’s official website, the 600,000 yearly visitors are only permitted entry through guided tours and are strongly discouraged from “touching, smelling, or tasting any plants.” However, despite the warnings, someone does occasionally pass out after breathing in the poisonous gases from these deadly plants.
The sun almost makes The Poison Garden a little less scary ☠️
Walk beyond the gates for your guided tour to learn not everything is as it seems in a quaint English Garden. Tours are included with Garden Entry, just ask our friendly guides! 🌱 pic.twitter.com/bD5fOKJVxH
— The Alnwick Garden (@AlnwickGarden) June 25, 2022
The Poison Garden at England’s Alnwick Garden is beautiful—and filled with plants that can kill you
🍄 https://t.co/IuCmZ1YEhq pic.twitter.com/W4pJecBY0x
— Sarah Chavez (@sarah_calavera) January 24, 2019
Along with tourists, botany enthusiasts travel from all over the world to see deadly plants like Wolf’s Bane, Monkshood, and Rhododendrons. Ricin, sometimes referred to as Castor Bean or Castor Oil Plant and listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most poisonous plant in the world, can also be found in the gardens. Ironically, the majority of the plants could provide the key to making significant advances in treating some of the most incurable diseases.
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Poison garden of Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, England. Behind these menacing looking black iron gates of this medieval castle is garden filled exclusively with hundreds of toxic, intoxicating, narcotic plants where visitors are explicitly told not to stop and smell flowers. pic.twitter.com/oi3b5pkR6V
— Archaeo – Histories (@archeohistories) May 17, 2022
For instance, the yew tree is notorious for its toxin, termed taxine, which can kill a person in as little as 20 minutes, according to the research. But few are aware that it also manufactures taxol, a drug used to treat breast cancer.
