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.

May showers

We had some good rain showers over the weekend, so the new rain barrel now has water to draw on.  I used some of it this evening for the container plants on the front porch.  It was great not to have to go clear around the house, and lug heavy watering cans so far.  I think it will prove to be a good investment for saving water and time.