How to plant an allergy-free garden

Spring is embraced by most but for about two million Australians the season means sneezing, wheezing, runny noses and itchy eyes, the uncomfortable symptoms of asthma and allergies.

Busting the old myths
Author Thomas Keneally was recently at the Asthma and Allergy Friendly Garden at Eden Gardens in Australia. As a long-time asthma sufferer he explained that when he was a boy, doctors believed children had asthma attacks because their mothers were neurotic. ‘Of course they were neurotic, their children couldn’t breathe!’ he said.

This myth has dispelled but while the reason people develop asthma is still unclear, evidence suggests it can be due to family history and exposure to cigarette smoke at an early age. Pollen floating in the air is also believed to cause asthma attacks.

Triggers of asthma
During spring and summer the pollen count rises as plants are reproducing.

Many species of weeds, grasses, trees and heavily flowered European imports rely on the wind to spread pollen, bad news for asthma and allergy sufferers.