Gardening With Allergies - How to Make Gardening Enjoyable When You Suffer With Seasonal Allergies

Gardening for the allergy sufferer can be a wonderful experience with some planning. The low allergy garden is full of beautiful plants that have one thing in common. They are insect pollinated plants which eliminates wind blown pollen. There are many, many trees, shrubs and perennials that are pollinated by insects that the low allergy garden is well rounded.

All herbs, including rosemary, lavender, thyme, oregano, sage, mint and chives, are welcome here as well as vegetable and fruiting plants.

Ground covers are used most effectively here. Covering the soil with creeping plants reduces the dust in the garden and landscape. Wise choices are creeping thymes, Corsican mint, ajuga, pachysandra, phlox and vinca.

Eliminate damp areas and reduce the use of natural mulch (wood chips, shredded bark, compost, manure mix, etc.) which produce wind borne mold spores. Instead use creeping ground covers or gravel. Xeriscaping gardening is a great alternative.

Choose perennials and shrubs that produce brightly colored blooms used to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other insects. Selections include yarrow, dianthus, Echinacea, hypericum, Russian sage, daylilies, tiarella, heuchera, veronica, salvia, hosta, monarda, roses, sambucus, weigela, viburnum, hibiscus (rose of Sharon), and hydrangea.

Low allergy trees include apple, plum, magnolia, dogwood, crape myrtles, poplar, cistena plum and cherry.

Mow the lawn area frequently keeping it shorter than normally required. Grass that is mowed to 2 inches is less likely to produce seed. It is generally too short to catch wind blown pollen.

Walk your garden or landscape regularly to pull or spray out weeds. Weeds are often the cause of more allergy issues than garden plants.

Hedges can pose a problem for allergy suffers as they collect dust, mold and pollen. Keep them pruned and thinned out to reduce such as build up.

Some plants that will wreck havoc with allergy suffers are ornamental grasses, most lawn grasses (mow frequently), conifers, aspen, oaks, ash, elm, birch, walnut, and willow, evergreen varieties and broad leaf evergreens. One exception to this is boxwood. As long as boxwoods are pruned hard so that they don't flower, they can be added as low allergy plants.

Visible pollen isn't irritating as it comes from insect pollinating plants and is too heavy to be carried by the wind. The lightweight, invisible airborne pollen is the pollen that causes allergies.

When in doubt about selecting plants for low allergy gardening, go with plants that produce brightly colored blooms so that they attract birds and insects. When plants are noted as being female, choose it. Male sexed plants produce airborne pollen.

Here is a link to the University of Vermont Extension site with an article on Gardening with Allergies. It may be short, but this article is full of useful information for the allergy suffer who wants to not only garden, but just enjoy being outdoors.

Gardening with Allergies

Follow our tips and suggestions and you, too, will be enjoying the outdoors this spring and summer.