The nice weather that we have been waiting for is finally here. We are all in the mood to start getting our lawns and gardens in order. That seems like it should be pretty easy. However, if you suffer from seasonal allergies, it is not quite that easy.
You can have a nice lawn and flower garden even if you suffer from seasonal allergies. You simply have to do a little more planning. First, start with the type of grass in the lawn. If you are allergic to grasses, the least allergic one is St. Augustine grass. If you are planting new grass, choose that one. Otherwise, when you mow the lawn, keep it less than two inches tall. This will help to keep the stems of pollen from getting too high in the wind.
When you are mowing the lawn, wear a NIOSH approved face mask to keep you from breathing in pollen. Also, you should wear a hat, gloves, glasses, long pants and a long sleeve shirt to reduce skin contact with pollen. If you have a small lawn, mow it with a reel mower. Power lawn mowers kick up a lot of grass particles and will aggravate your allergies. Leave your shoes outside to keep the pollen outdoors. You need to wash your clothes and shower when you go indoors.
If you have shrubs or hedges, you should keep them pruned and thin as they tend to collect dust, mold and pollen. Shrubs that cause a lot of allergic reactions include cypress, juniper, Japanese boxwood, Abelia and burning bushes. Also, male shrubs and trees produce more pollen. If your tree or shrub produces berries and a lot of twigs, it is female.
If you have or want to have a flower garden, there are some flowers that will not aggravate your allergies. Some of those flowers include begonias, daffodils, daisies, geraniums, impatiens, iris, pansies, periwinkles, petunias, snapdragons, sunflowers, tulip sand zinnias. Also roses, azaleas, orchids, dogwood and plums do not release much pollen and are less likely to cause allergy symptoms. Among weeds, ragweed is probably the one that causes the most allergic reactions.
If you are going to plant trees avoid planting alder, ash, alder beech, birch, box elder, cedar, cottonwood, elm, hickory, maple, mulberry, oak, olive, palm, pecan, pine, popular, sycamore. walnut, and willow trees as they are the most allergenic. The least allergenic trees are apple, cherry, Chinese fan palm, fern pine, dogwood, English holly, magnolia, pear, plum and red maple.
Pollen counts are at their highest in the morning and early afternoon and on hot, humid or windy days. Gardening in the late afternoon, on cool, rainy or windless days will help keep allergies at bay. Be sure to weed early in the spring before they have a chance to flower and produce pollen.
Do not use wood chips or mulch around shrubs or hedges as they retain water. This encourages the growth of mold which is another major allergen. Do not over water your lawn or garden as it will promote the growth of mold.
