Landscaping Tips For Those With Outdoor Allergies

Posted on: 29 April 2016

If you have a family member with outdoor allergy problems, it is a good idea to take this into consideration when planning out your landscape. There are plenty of plants that might work well in your yard but others that you should especially avoid. Here are four landscaping tips that hopefully will allow your allergic loved one to enjoy your yard year-round.

1. Look Into Lawn Alternatives

If your family member is allergic to grass in general, this can seem like an insurmountable problem when it comes to your yard. It is a good idea to talk with an allergy specialist and see if this might be deduced to specific types of grasses. Your loved one may have a blanket reaction to all types of grasses. Alternatives such as mulch, rock gardens, and larger patios can all be incorporated into your landscape plan and still look nice while reducing grassy areas.

2. Potted Flowers and Plants

While it might seem like a pain to deduce exactly what is causing allergies, this can be started by removing all potted plants and keeping these at a friend or neighbor's home. You can then reintroduce these one-by-one to see what might be causing the sniffles. If your family member can bring a list of plants that seem to be giving them trouble to an allergy specialist, this can be looked into as well.

3. Non-Pollen Producing Trees

Many times the trees that are sold at garden stores are male trees, since these aren't the trees that usually produce fruit, which can be messy. The thing is, male trees are the ones that give off pollen. If you can special order female trees or stick to fruit-bearing trees, allergies will be less apparent. Some female trees that are pretty and low-maintenance are poplar trees, mulberry trees, and juniper trees.

4. Weeding is Key

Some common culprits of allergies that may be overlooked are common weeds. Weeds are notorious at sprouting up everywhere, and some of this has to do with their ability to spread pollen effectively. Keeping up on weeding and having weed-controlling herbicides ready can keep these at bay. Some weeds to nip in the bud quickly are ragweed, Russian thistle, and sagebrush, which tend to cause allergy flare-ups.

If landscapers understand there is an allergy sufferer in your home, they can shape their decisions when planting and trimming as well. If your loved one can hone in on foliage that they might be especially allergic to, you can work to keep these out of your yard. Many times finding the perfect balance in your yard will be trial and error, but it will be worth the effort in the long run for those who suffer outdoor allergies.

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