If you're like many homeowners, it's important to you that your yard and garden area present an attractive appearance. Not only does it add aesthetic value to your home in the form of curb appeal, but it provides a pleasant space for you to spend time with your family and friends. If you've got enough room, part of your outdoor living space can also be utilized to produce fresh food and culinary herbs for the family table. However, this can all be challenging if you and/or other household residents are allergic to plant pollen.
Fortunately, you can still enjoy an appealing yard even if pollen allergies are a part of the picture. The following are just some of the many strategies designed to help those like you minimize the chances of experiencing allergic reactions while enjoying your outdoor living space.
Wage War on Weeds
Weeds grow in inopportune places, have fairly short reproduction cycles, and are notoriously difficult to discourage. Many weeds produce airborne pollen, which can easily float into your home interior on a breeze through an open door or window. It can also come in on the soles of your shoes or cling to your clothing. Some common weeds, such as ragweed and thistle, have particularly potent pollen.
Choose Flowering Plants Carefully
Although all flowering garden plants have pollen, some types of plants aggravate allergies more than others. Avoid anything in the aster family -- their pollen is airborne as well as sticky. The pollen of tubular flowers such as foxglove, fuchsia, and snapdragons, is kept contained at the top of the flower structure and therefore isn't exposed to the air, making tubular flowers better choices for those who experience allergies. Roses, peonies, carnations, and other flowers with lots of petals are also good choices.
Minimize Your Lawn Area
Grass allergies are very common, and for many people, the grass doesn't even have to go to seed before they experience an allergic reaction — simply touching the grass is enough to cause their skin to break out in a rash or hives. Lawns also provide prime habitat for weeds to become established. Consider using playground mulch in areas of your yard where children play, and explore alternative groundcovers such as mint or creeping thyme. Because different people have different allergy triggers, ask your local landscaper to help you devise a custom outdoor living space based on your own personal needs and preferences.
To learn more, contact a company that offers custom landscaping services.
When you move into a new home, relandscaping the garden is one way to have it reflect your personality. However, before buying any new plants, you need to know which ones suit your location climate the best.
When it is time to learn about landscaping and plants, but you don't know where to start, then you come to this website and start reading. Climate has a big impact on how well your new plants grow, so it is important to learn about soil testing, plant choice, and growth optimization, amongst other things.
The more you learn about plant choice and then their care, the better the odds of successful growing days.