Low Allergen GardeningSaturday, June 16, 2007 - 06:15 AM
It never fails. I have dug the perfect little hole for my seedling, have one hand full of soil and the little precious plant in the other, and …ahh..ahhh…..ahhhhCHOOOO! Plant, soil, and other stuff go flying all over the place. I am one of those most unfortunate of creatures, a gardener with allergies!
The hardest work of gardening just happens to take place at the time when most allergens are flying through the air….Spring. We look forward to warm weekend days when the sun is starting to shine, it's dry enough to turn soil in our beds, wake up the mulch, and generally spend as much time outside as possible after a long winter going through seed catalogs. But allergens exist in the garden year round (ok, maybe not under the snow, but all the rest of the time!) I tested positive for mold allergens. Ever turned some mulch after it's been out for a while? MOLD! Compost turning? MOLD! Even in our lovely forests and their beautiful leaf mulch. MOLD! MOLD! MOLD! What's a girl to do? I could wear a face mask while turning mulch or compost. I could stay indoors when it's windy. After all, that's what the leading doctors suggest. I could also turn into a pumpkin! But there are a few things we can do to lessen the effect of allergens on our gardening life, whether we are allergic to mold, pollens, or other things that go bump in our nostrils.
Pollen count is usually lower on cool, cloudy days with no wind. Most plants release pollen between 5:00 and 10:00 a.m., so try to work later in the day. Plant female plants when possible since male plants produce the pollen; females produce seed. Some plants produce both, so staying away from the highest pollen producers can help. Pollen is not created equal, by the way. Some pollen is light and is meant to fly on the wind to find its target. Sticky pollen, on the other hand, requires insects to move it about, and therefore is less of a problem for allergy suffers. Some of the worst plant-world offenders for pollen production are weeds. Grasses and weeds produce light wind-borne pollen that makes eyes itch and the strong sneeze! Large evergreen trees, such as pine and spruce, while producing the sticky kind of pollen, produce so darn much of it that it becomes a problem just by its quantity. That deck covered in yellow sticky pine pollen we all had in April? Ahchoo! (Gesundheit!)
Try not to use power blowers when cleaning up your yard. Besides being awfully noisy, they just blow all the pollen and mold spores up and around. If you can get someone else to weed whack or mow, hand them a cold lemonade and say thanks! Your hankie can stay nice and dry in your pocket. And finally, avoid over-spraying insecticides. They can cause asthma and chemical allergies in some folks.
Some of the most beautiful plants in our area are also some of the worst offenders: live oak, pine, spruce, maples, and all the lovely wildflowers and grasses that make our foothills golden in the summer. Flowering fruit trees are also heavy pollinators. Turf grasses, if left uncut, produce lots and lots of pollen when they go to seed. By replacing lawns with gravel or mulch, or other less pollen producing groundcovers, you will reduce the pollen in your yard and save water at the same time.
Here is a list of good shrub candidates for low allergy gardens that will grow in our area: hydrangea, Carolina Jessamine, begonias, shrub dogwoods, deutzia, rose of Sharon, flowering quince, butterfly bush, barberry, weigela, viburnum, spirea, and bayberry. Some good flowers are: impatiens, astilbe, snow-on the mountain, scabiosa, columbine, viola, ajuga, and hosta. Roses are also good as long as you can avoid the temptation to stick your nose in and….smell the roses! Some small trees that are also good for a low allergen setting are: redbud, hawthorn, dogwood, crabapple, magnolia, dawn redwood and flowering pear.
One last thing to remember: After you have gardened to your heart's delight, go inside and take a shower. Wash your hair. By removing all the accumulated pollens from your body and hair you can reduce your exposure. Leave your gardening clothes outside until you wash them. Leave the pollen, dirt, mold, and other stuff outdoors. After all, who wants to clean house when there's gardening to do outside! See you in the low allergen garden!
Anne Robin graduated from last year's Master Gardener training program in Tuolumne County. She gardens at about the 4000' elevation level.
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