First Posting

This is my first posting on my first blog, so this will all be quite experimental.

I've wanted to begin a blog for some time, to share my experiences as a relatively new gardener who is trying to design and set up a garden that minimizes exposure to allergens. I hope to learn from the experiences of other gardeners in dealing with their allergies as well.


About three years ago, after having had pretty standard "hay fever" all my life, I suddenly developed severe allergies to a lot of things. I had already begun gardening on a minimal level, but then felt the need to do what I could to alter my house and garden to keep allergic reactions to a minimum. 

Allergy testing showed that I am allergic to trees, grass, many weeds, as well as a number of foods and other things. In researching allergies on-line, I found a listing of plants rated by their potential to cause allergic reactions. I looked up some of the plants in my yard in this list, and found that some were better choices than others. This was the start of many changes I made to try to improve my quality of life.

I plan to share more specific details later, and hope others will share their experiences with low-allergy gardening as well.