The Allergy-fighting Garden by Thomas Leo Ogren

Being an avid gardener and someone who enjoys spending a lot of time in her yard, "The Allergy-Fighting Garden" by Thomas Leo Ogren really appealed to me! It also looked interesting to me because I do have extensive environmental allergies which makes spending time outside a love/hate relationship for me.

The idea of this book is simple really. Plants, trees, flowers and shrubs all have either male or female properties, or in some cases both. Female plants are usually the plants who bear fruit, berries, nuts, or seeds. Male plants are typically the plants that give off the most pollen, causing problems for allergy sufferers. By doing some careful planning, you can create an allergy-free yard your whole family can enjoy! The author also shares some options you can do if you already have an established landscape. Although it sounds strange, there are actually ways you can give your plants a "sex-change" and change them from male to female. Essentially, you want mostly female plants in your yard as they do not create pollen and can actually create a barrier for your yard. Ogren skillfully helps you discover what sex your plants are and includes over 3,000 listings of common plants and how much pollen they give off. I thought it was also interesting that he included plants that attract bees, for those allerguc to bees.

I admit I was a little skeptical before reading this book. An allergy-fighting garden did sound a little too good to be true, but what Ogren is talking about in this book really makes sense. I wondered what good would it do to get rid of the allergens in your own yard? Won't I still encounter them everywhere else? But there is actually some research showing that removing just one or two allergens from your "bucket" can really improve your day to day allergies. Allergies tend to build up in your system. One or two, or even three allergens alone may not be enough to cause you breathing problems, but perhaps that fourth or fifth allergen does. Eliminating small amounts of pollen and allergens from your day can make a tremendous difference.

I think "The Allergy-Fighting Garden" is a legitimately interesting book. What also stuck out to me was that the foreword was actually written by an allergist. That gives me some hope that this stuff actually works. It's a resource I will continue to leaf through for the years to come. I rate it as 5 stars.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion.