allegra

— -- Common sense tells you to steer clear of the things you're allergic to.

However, in the real world it's often impossible to avoid the substances that trigger your allergy symptoms. You can't control whether the plants you're allergic to occupy your city parks and commercial areas. However, you can control what you plant and limit allergens in your own yard.

In fact, with a little research and effort, you can create the yard you want while reducing the amount of pollen in your environment. This new concept in gardening helps you avoid pollen by eliminating its source. In other words, select only plants from one of the following groups:

Plants that produce large, very showy, lightly scented flowers. Plants that require insects to crawl inside them to collect pollen (such as snapdragon flowers) are best because a minimum of pollen is released into the air.

Female-only plants, which create no pollen at all. Only plants with male characteristics create pollen. By reducing or eliminating plants with male characteristics, you can help create a pollen-free yard.

HOW TO GET STARTED

STEP 1: Find out what triggers your allergy symptoms. The easiest way is to consult your doctor. If pollen is a trigger, you may want to consider reducing the allergens in your yard.

STEP 2: Log onto www.allegra.com/opals.jsp for our FREE plant-allergen scale. You can use this scale to rate the allergen producing potential of the plants in your yard.

STEP 3: Find the allergen-free plants that appeal to you. Take note of the characteristics of each, such as climate and water requirements, size, flower, and color.

STEP 4: Remove offending plants from your yard and replace them with plants that produce low levels of pollen or none at all. You may wish to consult a qualified landscape professional to help with your low-allergen landscape.

It's often said that prevention is the best medicine. By replacing allergen-producing plants with allergen-free plants, you'll be taking preventative measures to help reduce your seasonal allergy symptoms.