Caring for the garden with a pollen allergy can be a real pain. But even if you have hay fever, you don’t necessarily have to give up gardening. Some protective measures and good planning can help.
A stuffy nose and watery eyes are typical symptoms of a pollen allergy. Anyone affected is probably already taking antihistamines. But they often only promise a little relief. Those affected therefore try above all to avoid areas rich in pollen. When it comes to gardening, this seems almost impossible. But while the best way to protect yourself from rashes and pustules if you have a contact allergy on your skin is to wear long clothing and gloves, the right planning can also bring enormous relief when gardening.
As a pollen allergy sufferer, how you can make your garden allergy-free
In fact, you don’t necessarily have to have plants growing in your garden whose pollen travels long distances on the wind and whizzes into your nose. Plants whose sticky pollen is distributed by bees and other insects are lower in allergens – these include, for example, hydrangeas, petunias and forget-me-nots.
Rose bushes or magnolias are also better suited for gardens of people with pollen allergies. If you want to harvest fresh fruit, apple, pear or cherry trees can decorate your garden and catch pollen. As an allergy sufferer, you should pay attention to cross-allergies, especially when eating apples.
Especially if you have a grass pollen allergy, you should avoid larger lawns and keep the existing grass as short as possible. If you don’t want to mow yourself, a robotic lawnmower is a good idea.
Bordered hedges, for example made of Thujen, and walls can collect pollen to a certain extent from the air and from neighboring properties, as can small ponds in the garden.
Since mold can also cause or intensify allergic reactions, you should also exclude mulch and bark chips from your garden and position the compost as far away and closed as possible.
How to dress and behave while gardening
Since the pollen count is highest in the country in the morning and in the city in the evening, it is advisable that you adapt the working time in the garden depending on your living situation. A good rain in particular brings relief for people with pollen allergies, which is why you can start gardening immediately afterwards. Keeping your plants nice and moist and watering them regularly will also reduce the pollen buildup in the air a little.
Once you have finished gardening, you should avoid walking around the house in your work clothes and spreading pollen everywhere. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a change of clothes immediately after gardening, while you put the clothes you’ve worn in the washing machine as quickly as possible.
By the way, a cloth around your head can keep the annoying pollen out of your hair: This means you don’t have to wash your hair straight away, but you can simply carefully remove the head protection and clean it in the machine.