Poisonous plants for dogs and cats

With so many vegetables to sow in the spring garden, it's easy to feel spoiled for choice. Today, we present 10 must-have varieties—some are beloved classics that shouldn't be missed, while others offer new tastes and introduce unusual plants to our garden.

It's important to note that planting times can vary—either earlier or later—depending on outdoor temperatures and the type of cultivation. We also need to consider where to store the seedlings once we have sown them. Those that are more cold-tolerant can be sown in the greenhouse, while those requiring warmer temperatures should be grown indoors.

This allows us to start sowing even a month earlier. Once the seedlings have sprouted and temperatures have risen, we can transplant them into the vegetable garden or a larger pot.

POISONOUS AND TOXIC PLANTS FOR DOGS AND CATS: HERE ARE WHICH ONES TO AVOID

We are used to using poisonous plants in our gardens for many different purposes: for hedges, we can use plants such as Laurel or Yew, which are dangerous for our pets because of their leaves and berries, or Oleander, one of the plants with a poison that can be lethal even for humans, acting on the liver and respiratory system, paralyzing them.

Even a common Ivy, from the rivulets of starry leaves that we often find on the walls of our gardens, can cause our little friends, depending on the amount of ingested foliage, gastric disorders or respiratory complications.

Among our garden beds, we can find plants notable for their showy and fragrant flowers, such as Hydrangeas and Cyclamen, the ingestion of which can cause gastrointestinal upset to our dogs or cats, or Azaleas, which can even be fatal to them.

Wisteria flowers in the garden, on the other hand, can cause attacks of vomiting, colitis and abdominal pain.

Then how can we forget Lily of the Valley, which has been used for centuries as an ingredient in poisons: it affects blood circulation and heartbeat, paralyzing them, and can lead to death.

Some houseplants, such as Dieffenbachia or Philodendron, characteristic for their large, distinctive-looking leaves, can be a nuisance to our cats; a taste of them can bring irritation of various kinds, from colitis and swelling to throat irritation that can make breathing difficult.

Even the plants we usually decorate our rooms with at Christmas, such as Mistletoe, Holly and poinsettia, hide unwelcome surprises for our pets in their leaves and berries. Not surprisingly, they are traditionally hung or placed in high places inaccessible to our little friends.