Sunday Flowers!!

A few years ago when traveling in Arizona we stopped at a RV park and after registering the gentleman told us to park in the back along side the Oleander. We left registration with a confused look.

What is an Oleander? As we walked back to our motor home our heads were turning back and forth looking for the Oleander. Did he want us to park in back beside the maintenance shed and that garbage compactor sitting there is their Oleander?  Maybe he said park beside the "oily-tractor". I went back inside and he pointed us to the "Oleander". I had never heard of this flowering shrub. Beautiful..but deadly!!

The Oleander is a shrub with abundant beautiful flowers. The grow profusely in Arizona and the flowers are produced in many different colors and most are amazingly fragrant. But they are also one of the most poisonous plant in the world and contain numerous toxic compounds, which can be deadly. The toxidity of Oleander is considered extremely high.

The entire plant, even the sap is considered toxic. A single leaf can be fatal to a child. So my question is why are they still used as shrub borders along freeways and in school yards in California and Arizona?