Poison Garden sows the seeds for quirky way to spend a day

The Alnwick Garden’s Poison Garden has made the list – entitled Top 10 odd ways to spend your summer – and has been compiled by www.holidaycottages.co.uk

There are more than 100 plants of varying deadliness grown in the Poison Garden and a number of the ‘inmates’ have to have their own licence from the Home Office in order to be there.

Describing the Poison Garden, holidaycottages.co.uk states: ‘The sign at the big black gate reads ‘These Plants Can Kill’ – if that isn’t enough to make your hair stand on end, then I don’t know what is.

‘Inspired by the legendary botanical gardens in Padua where the Medicis (a wealthy, prominent Italian banking family) plotted the untimely deaths of their enemies, the Duchess of Northumberland created a magnificent garden dedicating it entirely to flora which are deadly and/or narcotic, of which there are approximately around 100 lethal killers, some of which are so dangerous they are caged.’

The Poison Garden featured on the recent series of Robson Green’s Further Tales from Northumberland. The TV star was given a tour by the Duchess.

The other locations/attractions on the top-1o list are Fingal’s Cave, Scotland; Longleat Hedge Maze, Warminster; Steam Train Excursion, Somerset; Eden Project, Cornwall; Secret Agent Training, Milton Keynes; Puzzlewood, Forest of Dean; Letterboxing, Dartmoor; Scottish Dark Sky Observatory, Dalmelington; and Zoo Keeper Experience, Chester.

James Morris, of holidaycottages.co.uk, said: “The guide offers the perfect excuse to try out something a little different this year.”