ChrisMcLaughlin

SteveA: For me personally, I'm mostly concerned with pesticides and GMO. I have this feeling that pesticides are causing a lot of damage health wise for not only the natural world, but for humans. And GMO makes me wince. But I'll read the book and get back to you on this. *grin*

If I don't win a copy of this book, I'll certainly be purchasing it. As a gardener of over 30 years and a garden writer, I've been waiting for an unbiased book to come along so I can understand the issues with clarity. Word on the street is not only confusing, it only half-informed and drives me nuts.

Oohh...right...I see it now. It really HAS been a while since I've done the flower guessing game, LOL.

Haven't done this in a while (been hanging around veggies way too long) - but it looks like a type of Four 0' Clock to me.

Steve: I agree - Sun Gold is fantabulous! We've been growing it ever since we discovered it about 13 years ago.
Another absolutely delicious tomato is a Russian one called 'Caspian Pink'. SUPER flavor!

JohnZappulla: I have in italics about the possible *irritant*. Since even the expert vet that *you* quoted said that dogs won't die from this plant, I'm not sure why you keep bringing death into the equation. So far, all of the experts (including your source)agrees that it could irritate - not kill. I'm unclear as to what your real problem is here.

JohnZappula: From the UNL Extension Office - Horticulturist Dr. Jim Hruskoi

http://hort4.unl.edu/hort-tip/poinset2.htm

From the Ohio State University, who did thousands upon thousands of dollars of research to unveil the truth about the potential toxicity in poinsettias:

http://www.osu.edu/news/releases/98-12-15_Poinsettias_Are_Not_Toxic.html

There are research facilities all over trying to dispel of this myth. I do commend AKC for covering all of the bases considering the sap can be an irritant. If a dog's mouth get's too irritated, I guess it might not eat and that's another way it could die.

I wrote this article to help dispel the myth that if an animal or human ingests a poinsettia plant that it's fatal. It simply isn't.

There are many people who still hang on to the misconception and this could certainly be the case with the AKC. The AKC doesn't have links to any type of research that can back up this claim. Looks like they're being cautious and that's fine.

That said, I don't think anyone or anybody should be encouraged to eat any houseplant that hasn't been proven to be actual food. After all, an individual (or any pet) could have an allergy to some specific compound and die just from their own individual reaction.

Bees are a good example. People who are allergic to bee venom could die from a sting, but no one is saying not to have bees in your yard because they're toxic.

Certainly, if there is some contradicting research out there, I would be very interested to see it.

Not to mention that you're arguing that the sap could be an irritant - which is exactly what I stated in italics. I went ahead and added to my already italicized statement about the sap potentially irritating skin - that dog's mouths could react, as well in case that wasn't already clear for some people.

Kerry Ann,

LOL...so true, I do have roses blooming in my yard. We hit a record over here in the SF Bay Area in the past couple of days, though. We had temps in the teens and a mid-morning temp of 26 - unheard of. We even had snow! Anyway, if this keeps up, we won't have roses for long, that's for sure. *grin*

Those roses in your picture are gorgeous!

That's a Cymbidium orchid!
http://www.examiner.com/x-2485-SF-Gardening-Examiner~y2009m2d4-Cymbidium-orchids-are-in-bloom