'SAFETY FIRST' RULE APPLIES TO GARDENS.

Byline: JANE GATES Gardening

SANTA CLARITA - Our gardens provide decor for our homes, sources for food, places for resting, entertaining, playing sports and games, and play areas for our children and pets.

Landscaping and personal gardens can add a lot to our property values and the quality of our lives.

But most importantly, they must be safe. It's important to keep hazardous chemicals properly stored, sharp or dangerous materials out of harm's way, and outdoor areas safe and easy to walk through.

Less obvious, though, is the danger that can be posed by the very plants we use to make our gardens beautiful and useful. Some plants can be poisonous to children and pets, so it is important to be aware of their risks and use them wisely.

Most of these plants will cause only minor irritations or upsets, but others, especially if parts are swallowed, can be more dangerous. Because young children and pets may be tempted to eat whatever is in reach, they usually are considered the household members most as risk.

If you find you have any poisonous plants in your garden, try fencing them off temporarily and make sure you supervise young ones whenever they are in the area. Better yet, when making your selections to plant in a new area, avoid any potentially poisonous ones.

This list is short. Most of decorative plants are not easy to digest, so you'd best avoid eating any garden plant not intended to be edible.

Here is a list of some of the more commonly used garden plants that could be a problem:

OUTDOOR PLANTS

Aconitum (monkshood)

Aloe (some are irritants)

Alocasia (elephant ears)

Alstroemeria (can cause dermatitis)

Amaryllis belladonna (naked lady)

Anemone (windflower)

Asclepias (milkweed)

Cestrum nocturnum (night jessamine)

Convallaria (lily of the valley)

Duranta (berries)

Euphorbia (white milky sap)

Gelsemium (Carolina jessamine)

Heliotrope (cherry pie plant)

Ligustrum (privet)

Nerium oleander

Potato (green skin and raw shoots)

Rhododendron and azalea (leaves)

Rhubarb (leaves)

Ricinus (castor bean)

Robinia (locust trees)

Solanum jasminoides (potato vine)

Schinas (pepper tree - dermatitis)

Taxus (yews)

INDOOR PLANTS

Amaryllis (bulbs)

Caladium (juice can cause swelling of mucous membranes)

Christmas poinsettia (euphorbia)

Crown of thorns (euphorbia)

Dieffenbachia (dumb cane)

Ivy (can cause dermatitis)

Olea (unprocessed olives are inedible)

Solanum pseudocapsicum (Christmas Cherry)

These are just a few of the common plants that can be toxic to man and beast. Beware of all decorative plants in the solanum and euphorbia families, both indoors and out. Interestingly enough, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos and eggplants are also in the solanum family and they certainly are not poisonous.

Avoiding sharp or poisonous plants is one solution to keeping children and pets safe, but we need to keep an eye on activities of those unfamiliar with the dangers in our environment.

Children love to put things in their mouths, cats seek grass or other natural greens, and some canines will chew objects they find because the are curious or bored.

Finding healthier substitutes and keeping children and pets occupied with interesting and challenging things to do will help keep children, animals and plants safe and happy. Just remember - the younger the child, the shorter the attention span. Safe and happy a minute ago could mean bored and exploring dangerous objects next.