Categories: HEALTH & WELLNESS

How to Have a Hypoallergenic Yard in Four Steps

When my doctor who had just diagnosed me with asthma and allergies, told me I needed to not only have a hypoallergenic house, but a yard as well, I thought he had lost his mind. What in the world was a hypoallergenic yard and how does one get a yard that you won’t be allergic too? How do you plan this when I’m allergic to grass, tress, flowers,and shrubs?

The doctor had just finished poking me with all the little fun needles filled with different substances to see which I had an allergy reaction too. Supposedly, I am allergic to grass, ragweed, and oak trees. The doctor said that these were high on the list of greenery I shouldn’t have in my yard. How does one eliminate grass? Well, some things aren’t possible, unless you live in the deserts of Las Vegas where there is litle grass, tress, flowers, and shrubs. But with my allergists help and a little effort on my part, i have learned how to have a hypoallergenic yard. Now maybe my allergies and asthma will go away.

I have to give credit also to the wonderful gardener at our local hardware and garden center. When I suggested I needed a hypoallergenic yard, he made a few suggestions. Upon checking them out with my allergist and no the Internet, I found out that he was correct.

The first place to start with your yard is of course with grass. There was only one type of grass that everyone agreed would be the least apt to cause allergies. This was St. Augustine grass. Luckily for us, this type of grass grows easily in our hot, humid, and wet Florida summers. So the first thing we did was redo our yard and plant St. Augustine Grass. We did this in later winter, around February, so as not to kill any grass that would come in. After the end of February in North Florida, we receive very few frosts, if any.

The second step for our yard was to discover what type of trees we could grow and not be allergic to. While it is almost impossible to cut down all the trees around our house, we made sure that the one oak treenear the front of the house was gotten rid of. An oak tree is one of the biggest allergens, as far as trees are concerned. In it’s place we planted a dogwood tree. Other good trees to plant are plum trees and apples trees. Luckily we already had a couple of plum trees in our yard. But the one thing that needs to go, is the pecan tree. It is such an old majestic tree so we really hate to get rid of it. But the pollen from the tree isn’t doing my allergies or ashtma much good.

The third step to this type of yard is to decide what type of bushes or shrubs we wanted in front of the living room windows. We did some research at the garden center and found out that one of the best shrubs to plant is azaleas. While they are everywhere in Florida, I was really trying to avoid azaleas, but we went with then anyway, and they turned out beautifully. Hydrangeas are another good shrub choice for a hypoallergenic shrub or bush.

The last step for our yard was to decided which type of flowers would go well in the flower bad along the garage. Again, we relied on the Internet, my allergist, and our garden center to make our flower suggestions. They all suggested growing flowers such as daises and snapdragons. Two of the three suggested growing sunflowers. I went with the first flower suggestion and we grew daises and snapdragons. They are a beautiful flower combination in our flower bed and we notice that as we pass the garage, we sneeze less with these kinds of flowers.

The last step for our yard , was that I found out what to absolutely avoid. As mentioned previously, be sure and avoid pecan trees and oak trees. These trees create the most pollen for allergy sufferers and asthma patients. Palm trees are such a staple in Florida, but the allergist said they were not a wise tree choice. Luckily we didn’t have any of these trees in our yard. Also, be sure and avoid any type of Bermuda grass or rye grass. We believe our previous grass was Bermuda and this accounted for a lot of my allergy grass problems.

With a lot of work and a little help from your allergist and gardener, you can have a hypoallergenic yard with the perfect grass, shrubs, trees, and flowers. It sure cost us a lot of money to re landscape our yard, but in the long run it is worth it to avoid allergy and asthma attacks. Hopefully if you have allergies and asthma, these suggestions will help you also. It has made a world of difference in my allergies and asthma.