A Fascinating English Garden Made Up Completely of Poisonous Plants

Great Big Story traveled to Northumberland, U.K. to meet with Trevor Jones, head gardener at the Gardens at Alnwick Castle, which houses the famous Poison Garden. Clad in a protective suit, Jones explained that the 95-different plants within the garden can kill or harm a living being in just as many ways and the cautious steps they take in order to safely maintain the garden.

This garden is set in the war garden of the old castle in Northumberland, U.K. We have around about 95 plants and we’re adding to the collection all the time. …So it was the brainchild of the duchess, the Duchess of Northumberland, so rather than having a herb garden, she decided to create more interest and have a poison garden. They’re very very common plants. In fact, a lot of them are what we call cottage garden plants, and they’re grown in many people’s gardens, but people don’t know how harmful they actually are.