Home > Tip of the Week > Sneeze-Free Gardening

Tip of the Week

By Solvie Karlstrom | All Posts

Sneeze-Free Gardening

10:53 am - June 20, 2006

Photo: Sneeze-Free Gardening

Just because you have asthma or allergies doesn't mean you can't enjoy the pleasures of gardening. In fact, there is a wide range of big, showy flowers, shrubs, and trees that won't make you wheeze, cry or sniffle. By choosing insect-pollinated plants, which tend to have heavier pollen that doesn't become airborne easily, you can enjoy hours of virtually allergy-free gardening.

Here are a number of examples of insect-pollinated plants including many fruit trees, shrubs, and brightly colored flowers:

Garden plants: Alyssum, begonia, cactus, clematis, columbine, crocus, daffodil, daisy, dusty miller, geranium, hosta, impatiens, iris, lily, narcissus, pansy, petunia, phlox, rose, salvia, snapdragon, sunflower, tulips, verbena, zinnia.

Grasses: St. Augustine (not for all climates, however).

Shrubs: Azalea, boxwood, hibiscus, hydrangea, viburnum.

Trees: Apple, cherry, dogwood, magnolia, pear, plum.

Remember, flowers with pollen that may not cause a problem outdoors can be a different story if brought indoors. Not only can pollen become airborne as the flowers age and dry out, but the chances of coming into contact with pollen increase just by handling or smelling the flowers.

For more gardening tips and advice from The Green Guide, click here. And for pollen relief indoors, consider these cleaning suggestions.

© The Green Guide, 2008

Share | Email this post

Discuss this blog


Gardening and Allergies
posted by ToysMum on 2006-06-23 13:48:07  

http://www.allergyfree-gardening.com/

Please check the website above for information on two books written by Tom Ogren. He researched and created an allergy scale for plants, least-to-most likely to cause allergy problems if planted in a park, neighborhood, or under your bedroom window.

Cities and individuals unwittingly plant "non-messy" trees and plants that tend to spew out the most pollen and create the most misery. "Safe Sex in the Garden" explains how nurseries tend to stock only the male plants, when plants with separate genders are available. Female plants, which drop fruit and require more clean-up, are more work, but don't create the pollen problem!

And watch out for bottlebrush. Under NO circumstances should anyone sniff the flowers of that plant. The pollen is shaped like a spiky triangle, and will stay in your nasal passages, keeping you sneezing for a week. Find out how the author learned this by reading his book.