The Arrival of Spring

I've been enjoying the progress of the spring flowers; first dwarf iris, snowdrops and crocus, and now daffodils and hyacinths.  I also love to watch the perennials as they emerge from their winter's rest. However, the milder weather over the last week has also brought on lots of tree pollen, which means stuffy, runny noses and itchy eyes as well.  It's all just a normal part of spring.

Sinus Rinse

In yesterday's post I listed the sinus rinse as a very helpful method of dealing with pollen allergies.  I wanted to explain this a bit further for those who might be considering trying it.

Using a sinus rinse was first recommended to me by my allergist.  He explained that it would help with inhalant allergies such as those to pollen, mold spores, animal dander, and dust mites.  It helps your body get rid of the irritating allergens that have found their way into your nose, and clears out congested mucus.

Hay Fever Season

As fall approaches, we enjoy the more moderate weather. It's such a relief for people, pets and gardens when temperatures no longer get scorching hot day after day.  My dog and I both enjoy being able to take longer walks together without being overheated. The down-side to fall coming, though, is hay fever season.

This is the time of year when weed allergies come to the fore, the most infamous of which is ragweed.  This is the allergy that affects a lot of people who don't have other allergy problems. I've been noticing the last couple of weeks that I'm waking up with a bit of a stuffy nose, and other people have been mentioning stuffy, runny noses, sneezing, and itchy eyes.

Favorite Flowers: Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon blossoms

Allergy Index Scale:  4
Deciduous shrub, zones 5-9
Full sun-partial shade, 10-12' tall

As I have been watching for the hummingbird moths this week, I have most often found them visiting my rose of Sharon bushes, which at this time of year,  are simply covered in flowers.

Update on Dog Allergies

Theo

Earlier this summer I wrote about my dog's allergies, which have tormented him every summer since I first got him.  Because his symptoms generally start up in the late spring and continue until hard frost, I tend to assume that they are allergies to grass.  Allergies to trees usually occur in earlier spring, and weed allergies mostly in the late summer and early fall.

Favorite Flowers: Liriope

Liriope in bloom

Allergy Index Scale:  3
Perennial, zones 5-9
Full sun-partial shade, 10-15" tall

My liriope has just started to bloom.  The flowers look a bit like those of grape hyacinths. Later they will become clusters of dark blue-black berries. Liriope, commonly called lilyturf, is a great tough, low-maintenance plant that does well here in semi-shade, though it tolerates quite a range of light and soil conditions. 

Favorite Flowers: Morning Glories

"Carnival" morning glory

Allergy Index Scale:  4
Annual
Full sun, 6-12' tall

Morning glories grow pretty quickly, so they're great for covering a lot of the homely chain link fence around my yard every summer. Mine usually start flowering in July, and continue through the rest of the summer.  The flowers may be white, blue, pink or purple, and may have stripes or splashes of color, or picotee edges. Each flower lasts only a day. They attract both hummingbirds and butterflies.

Mowing the Lawn

One of my tasks today was to mow the lawn. It needed it more than usual, since we've had quite a bit of rain recently.  The forecast tonight and tomorrow includes more rain, so I really needed to mow today.

Since I am allergic to grass, I try to take a few precautions when I mow. Grass pollen is one of the primary causes of allergies during the summer.  People can also have problems while mowing from exposure to mold spores and other allergens being stirred up by mowing.

Angel Wing Begonia

Angel wing begonia

One of the house plants I cherish most is an angel wing begonia that was given to me years ago by my grandfather.  Since I need to keep the humidity in my house so low, to control mold and dust mite allergies, the begonia was having a hard time.  Once I put in a glass watering bulb, which helps keep the soil more evenly moist, and began misting it with water once a week, it started doing a lot better.

Sunflowers

First sunflower of the year

The sunflower is the official state flower of Kansas.  It certainly is a good choice for a tall border here, as it thrives in our hot, humid summer weather.  I have a row of sunflowers planted across the middle area of the back fence, between the coneflowers and the asparagus.

Planting the Last Bed

Aglaia daisy

Over the last couple of evenings, I've been working on my final flower bed--the one in the far corner of the yard, that somehow always ends up being the last place I tackle every spring.  It's back behind the garage, the area I see the least.  It's on the west side, right out in the blazing hot afternoon and evening sun, yet farthest from a water source. This bed always gets invaded from the neighbor's yard with a variety of weeds that try to smother any lower-growing or less assertive plants I've put in. So I try to plant it with tough, low-water plants that don't need a lot of pampering.  Some of the things I'd originally planted there a number of years ago are no longer coming back, so I've been pondering over what to plant there this year.

Favorite Flowers: Sweet Peas

Annual sweet peas

Allergy Index Scale:  3
Annual
Full sun or light shade, 4-6' tall

The annual sweet pea is a fragrant flower available in many colors and varieties.  Some are cascading, and fit well in hanging containers; others are climbers that cover a fence.  Some of the newer varieties are less fragrant than the traditional ones.

Dog's Allergies

Theo

 

Every summer my dog, Theo, suffers from allergies.  He constantly licks and chews on his feet, and scratches himself.  His skin is horribly red and irritated.  This starts in May and doesn't end until the first frosts of fall.

Favorite Flowers: Creeping Phlox

Creeping phlox

Allergy Index Scale:  4
Perennial, zones 3-9
Full sun to light shade, 2-6" tall

One of the flowers that adds so much color to the spring garden is creeping phlox, also known as moss pinks.  In the spring, when it blooms, it is literally covered with small flowers for several weeks.  When grouped together or allowed to spread as a groundcover, this mass of color is stunning. Creeping phlox blooms in pink, rose, lavendar, blue, white or variegated. Even when the flowering is over, the  needle-like foliage, evergreen in milder climates, makes a nice thick ground cover.

Favorite Flowers: Lungwort

Allergy Index Scale: 2
Perennial, zones 4-9

Trevi Fountain lungwort in bloom

Partial shade to shade, 6-12 inches

Lungwort, or pulmonaria, is a reliable perennial for the shade garden that blooms in early spring.  Depending on the variety, the foliage may be plain green, spotted with white, or nearly pure silver.  The flowers may be blue, pink, or white.  The specimen in the photograph is "Trevi Fountain," which has pink buds that open to a lovely clear blue. 



Favorite Flowers: Purple Coneflower

Allergy Index Scale:  5
Perennial, zone 3
Full sun, 2-3 feet tall

One of the perennial flowers that most reliably handles the hot Kansas summers without pampering is the purple coneflower, or echinacea.  This native plant can handle the extremes of both winter and summer and keep going.

Originally their flowers were a rosy pink color, but they are also available now in white, yellow, orange, and red. They bloom in the summer and early fall. If you deadhead them during the summer, they will keep blooming for many weeks.  Leaving the seedheads at the end of season provides seeds that are attractive to native birds such as goldfinches.

Got Weeds?

The weather has been so lovely recently; cool, often sunny, but enough rain so that everything outside is incredibly green and lush.  It's a great time to be outdoors, and I treasure my garden time.  So what do I spend my time doing?  Weeding!  I avoid using synthetic products on my lawn, like weed killers or weed and feed products, and so my yard gets lots of weeds.  Weed pollens tend to be a major allergy issue, so I need to eliminate them.  Result?  I spend a lot of time pulling weeds.

There are a few things I can do to try to prevent weeds in the first place. 

Spring Allergies

Spring is such a great time in the garden, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  However, it's also a time when my allergies kick in, so there are things that I do to keep them from taking all the fun out of the season.

There are lots of suggestions out there of ways to prevent or lessen allergic reactions.  I've collected a lot of them from my allergist, books, articles and websites.  From these, I've found those that help me the most.  Which approaches are best for a particular person depends on exactly what things you are allergic to, and  how you are exposed to them--by inhaling, touching or ingesting the allergens. In gardening, allergens include pollen from plants, mold spores, and contact reactions from plant sap.

Enjoying Spring

Spring is really here, though some days still have a chilly bite, and some nights still get down into the 30s, and I have to bring some of the seedlings back into the house. Every year I feel that my garden is better than ever before, as plants become better established, and I have had another year to adjust and change things.

So many of my spring bulbs seemed to do well this year, such as the dwarf iris to the left. They don't bloom long, but they're one of the first flowers of the year. I love to see their tiny flowers spreading slowly from year to year. I've enjoyed bringing some of the less common plants into the garden.