One in five people suffer from hay fever at some point in their life, and find summer a time to be endured rather than enjoyed. As hay fever is an allergic reaction to the pollen released by plants, gardening can be a difficult pastime for sufferers.
Here are some hints and tips to help create low-allergen gardens and reduce the effects of hay fever. When combined with common-sense precautions like avoiding the garden on high pollen count days and wearing wraparound sunglasses, these suggestions will help to keep your garden sneeze-free.
In the meantime, browse our range of garden ornaments to add colour and interest to your outside space.
Top tips for reducing hay fever
- Select plants that are pollinated by insects rather than those that release their pollen into the air. The added benefit is that you will also be helping the bees!
- Plants with double flowers produce less pollen, so chose these rather than ones with single open blooms. Low allergen plants include mimulus, impatiens, iris, antirrhinums, peonies, lavender and roses.
- Highly-perfumed flowers can trigger an allergic reaction so avoid these and instead select non-scented varieties.
- Keep your lawn short with regular mowing as this will prevent the grasses from flowering. Better still, ask someone else to cut it for you! Running a sprinkler on your lawn before venturing out can also help to dampen down the pollen.
- Foliage plants are pollen-free and can add colour and interest to your garden. The same applies to non-flowering grasses.
- Weeds can produce high amounts of pollen (which is why they spread so quickly) so suppress them using low-allergen ground cover plants like vinca and ajuga.
- On your veg patch, stick with leafy and root veg such as lettuce, beetroot, carrot and self-fertile beans. Avoid varieties pollinated by wind, like sweetcorn.
- Flowers aren’t the only way to bring colour to your garden. Brightly painted fences, sheds and benches, together with colourful pots, can all play a part.
We hope these suggestions help to make your garden an enjoyable space for hay-fever sufferers and wildlife alike.
