Q. I am
an avid gardener but an allergy sufferer and I find myself avoiding going out
in the garden in pollen season. Is there any hope of having at the very least a
low allergy garden?
A. Research
has always shown that the closer we are to a highly allergenic, high pollen
plant, the greater our exposure will be. A high pollen tree in your
own yard will expose you to ten times the pollen than would a similar tree
planted down the block. With this in mind, your own garden could be full of
problematic plants and these should be removed and replaced with plants known
NOT to cause allergies. This will help to clean up the airspace in your
own garden. A really well-designed landscape would have nothing but plants
known to be either very low-allergy or completely allergy-free. This is true
with all types of plants, trees, shrubs, flowers, even lawns.
Q. Are
there any shrubs or flowers that are worse offenders than others for allergy
sufferers? Why?
A. There
are many common shrubs that are male clones. These produce pollen every year,
and lots of it. Female shrubs never produce pollen and are the ones you want to
look for. Certain flowers, honeysuckle's for example, for some reason they
cause allergy, even though they do not produce a great deal of pollen. Other flowers
like lilacs have a fragrance that can be deadly for perfume-sensitive
people.
Q. Is
there any time of day in which the pollen is likely to be less active and
gardening is safer for allergy sufferers?
A. In
lawns the pollen is most active from 3am to 8am. Don't mow your lawns early in
the day, as the pollen might still be active. Right after a heavy rain pollen
levels are often quite low. The rain has washed away much of the pollen.
However, after a light rain, many kinds of pollen, birch in particular, becomes
activated and is most allergenic. The worst times for airborne pollen are on
days that are warm, dry and breezy.
Q. Is
there any difference between the allergic potential of annuals or perennials?
A. There
isn't much general difference between allergy levels of annuals and perennials.
Some annuals cause allergies and some don't. It is the same with perennials.
Q. What
are some popular annuals that are low pollen producers?
A. Annuals
such as Impatiens, snapdragons, and petunias cause very few allergies.
Q. What
are some popular perennials that are less allergenic?
A. Some
perennials like phlox, dianthus, and peonies also cause almost no allergy at
all.
Q. Even
if I had an allergy-free garden myself what is the point, as I would still be
subject to the pollen flying in from neighbors yards?
A. Yes,
even in a perfectly designed allergy-free garden you could still get some
pollen coming in on you from others' yards. However, you would be exposed to
much less pollen. You would have no high pollen sources directly near you. Your
garden would be free of any plants that caused allergy from smells or from
actual contact. Because your overall pollen exposure would be lower, you and
your children or grandchildren would feel better and breath more easily. You
would also know that your own plants were not making any of YOUR neighbors ill.
You would know that you were doing something positive, something real to
improve air quality. Also, if your yards and gardens were allergy-free, at
least you would be doing something proactive, instead of just doing nothing and
then suffering the consequences.
From Thomas Ogren, Author of Allergy-Free Gardening.
Every year I try to plant a few T. acuminata (these from Brent and Beckys) in the front yard. They’re expensive as tulips go—about 4-5 bucks a bulb—and are considered heirloom. Most of the bulb experts seem to think they are an older hybrid, not a wild tulip, but their exact origins are a bit murky. Anna Pavord is a fan; she writes about them as being “spidery and mad.” Brent and Beckys thinks they date to 1813; Old House Gardens sees them as a survivor of the c. 1700s thin-petal tulip craze.
