What to plant if you have allergies

It's that time of year when flowers bloom, pollen is in the air, eyes get puffy and noses get stuffy. Although you can't control the landscaping in the rest of the world, you can plant your own sneeze-free garden at home.

Plant a sneeze-free garden

If just the sight of blooming trees and plants is enough to have you running for tissues, chances are you're allergic to pollen. But even with allergies, you can still have a beautiful garden. Follow these tips on what to plant (and what to stay away from) if you suffer from hay fever.

Check out these allergy-reducing tips for your home >>

Cacti

Succulents are an allergy-sufferer's dream. Not only are cacti easy to keep and drought-resistant, but you'll have no plant pollen worries with them. While the vision of a cactus garden might sound unappealing and remind you of barren dessert, flowering cactus can be quite showy and provide bright color. There are also plenty of interesting shapes and sizes to give your garden interest.

Flowers

Just because you're allergic to pollen doesn't mean your garden can't have beautiful flowers. Choose any of these vibrant blooms to give a punch of color to your landscaping:

• Begonia — These plants come in a variety of different colors, with leaves ranging from dark green to red, as well as flowers from white to pinks and reds. Their unique color composition offers a nice variation from other greenery.
• Hypoallergenic sunflowers — Get height and color with these skyscraping plants. (Stay away from common sunflowers.)
• Bulbs — Daffodils, tulips and lilies are bulbous flowering plants that bloom in the springtime. Available in just about any color from yellow to red to purple, these provide a great splash of color.
• Roses — This classic garden flower might not make you stuffy, but watch out for the thorns!

Some flowers produce more pollen and should not go in your garden if you suffer from allergies. Be sure to avoid these flowers and flowering vines that are sure to make you sneeze: Daisies, chrysanthemums, amaranth, jasmine vine and wisteria.

Trees

As beautiful as maples, oaks and elms are, they wreak havoc on allergies if you select a male plant. By choosing the female plant of these species, your allergies should not be affected. Be sure to buy the tree from a reputable nursery so you know exactly what you're getting. Another option is to choose another type of tree altogether, like fruit trees (cherry, apple and plum are good options), dogwood or magnolia trees. A good rule of thumb is to stay away from any tree with large blooms, as large blooms means a lot of pollen.

Learn more about getting control of your seasonal allergies >>

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