My Tall and Handsome took this the other day when we were out at the St. Simons Lighthouse.
I love Oleander. It’s common to find it in the subtropical parts of the South (and even in some of the cooler parts). It’s a hardy plant, evergreen, deer resistant and drought tolerant, BUT it’s also infamous for its toxicity.
Oleander has played a part for centuries as intrigue in stories both real and fiction…fame and fable. One tale even has some of Napoleon’s men dying of Oleander poisoning when they used Oleander sticks to roast meat on an open fire. So, a word to the wise…don’t use this pretty little plant for your shish kabobs at your next barbeque…you just might get a cast of terminal indigestion!
© 2010 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
A Steel Magnolia is an Iron Butterfly 