Re: cut flower pollinators, now allergies

I know, me too Wendy. I have been to an allergist too, and he told me the same thing. But tell my nose that. If I cut a sunflower, and put it in a vase on my desk...I am suffering within the hour. My allergies can be THAT bad. And ragweed season is my worst season....and I'm out there anyway. Marigolds and Mums are in the ragweed family...and I have those too. Pam laughed when I pulled my gardening wagon out to work...shovel, rake, mulch...oh yes...and a huge box of Kleenex.

Jesse Rene' Bell
Claremore, OK
Zone 6


From: Wendy Swope <wendyswope@mindspring.com>
Reply-To: gardenchat@hort.net
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] cut flower pollinators, now allergies
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 12:53:15 -0400 (GMT-04:00)

Hi, Cathy,

You wrote,
<snip>  DH is an allergist, and wind borne pollen is the
culprit in 99.9% of pollen allergies (they are inhaled). There is a
remote possibility that a flower arranger might develop an allergy to
heavier pollen through skin contact, but most of us would not have that
kind of exposure.

The past couple of years have been my introduction to heavy duty
allergies, most of 'em acute in my perennial garden (@#$%&**!!!). I
laugh when I mention putting your face into non-airborne pollen, because
that is exactly what I have to do to pull all the thistles out of my
Russian Sage beds! At this time of year, when the tiny flowers have
dried on the stems, plunging into the beds to weed is kind of like
immersing myself in a cloud of talcum powder, and, oh brother!, do I
pay!!! I've started using disposable respirator masks when working with
dried plant materials. Feels *very* nerdy, but at least I can breathe.


The dried heads of butterfly bush are another booby trap I set for
myself from autumn until very early spring. While the bushes are green
and growing, they pose no problem. It's the dried flowerheads that get
me. But I do let them stand every year for winter structure. The tall
plants soften the starkness of my naked landscape, and the spent flower
heads stay a nice rust color; the flowerets never drop, and they even
retain some fragrance (nice!). So I keep on wreaking havoc with my
allergies each year when at last I cut them down.


Wendy

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