You’ve banished gardening from your life, uprooted your plants and spend your Spring hiding indoors. Little do you know, there are hundreds of low-allergy options for your garden. What’s more, many of these are far more beautiful than their pollen-pouring counterparts, because they have to stand out in order to attract bees and other pollinating insects. Here is Allergic Living‘s list of potentials for your low-allergy garden:

Photo: JENNIFER BYRON/Getty

Flowering Plants

• Lathyrus odoratus – Sweet pea
• Catharanthus roseus – Periwinkle
• Digitalis – Foxglove
• Impatiens – Impatiens
• Myosotis – Forget-me-nots
• Nierembergia – Cup flower
• Petunia – Petunia
• Viola – Johnny jump up, pansy, violet
• Brodiaea – Dlephant’s ears
• Crocus – Spring-flowering crocus
• Cyclamen – Cyclamen
• Galanthus – Snowdrops
• Gladiolus – Gladiolus
• Hyacinth – Hyacinth (numerous varieties)
• Gentiana – Gentian
• Geranium – True geranium, cranesbill
• Hemerocallis – Day lily
• Peony – Peony
• Polemonium – Jacob’s ladder
• Rhododendron – Azalea, rhododendron
• Fuchsia – Fuchsia
• Dianthus – Carnation, pinks
• Papaver – Poppy
• Begonia – Fibrous or tuberous begonia
• Rosa – Rose (avoid high-scent varieties)
• Phlox – Phlox
• Iris – Iris
• Erythrocoma triflora – Prairie smoke
• Kniphofia – Red Hot Poker
• Clematis – Clematis
• Tulipa gesneriana – Tulip (bulbs may irritate sensitive skin)
• Penstemon – Beardtongue
• Antirrhinum – Snapdragon
• Asclepias tuberosa – Butterfly weed
• Hibiscus – hibiscus
• Narcissus – Daffodil
• Bulbine frutescens – bulbine

Shurbs/Bushes/Herbs

• Coleus blumei – Coleus
• Hosta – Hosta, plantain lily
• Physalis – Chinese lantern
• Sempervivum – Hens and chicks
• Hydrangea grandiflora – Big leaf hydrangea
• Viburnum – Viburnum shrubs, highbush cranberry, nannyberry
• Heuchera – Coral bells (many varieties)
• Teucrium crispum – Wood sage
• Physocarpus opulifolius – Dart’s gold, ninebark
• Bergenia – Elephant’s ears
• Kolkwitzia amabilis – Beauty bush
• Aronia melanocarpa – Black chokeberry
• Rodgersia pinnata – Featherleaf rodgersia
• Helianthemum – Sunrose, rock rose
• Gaura – Gaura, beeblossom
• Vaccinium corymbosum – Blueberry bush
• Berberis vulgaris – Barberry bush
• Daphne – Daphne
• Nandina domestica – Nandina
• Salvia greggii – Autumn sage
• Salvia clevelandii – Cleaveland sage, blue sage

Trees

• Stick to female trees, which may drop berries or seeds but don’t produce pollen
• Persimmon  – persimmon tree
• Amelanchier lamarkii – juneberry tree

Vines/Climbing Plants

•  Thunbergia alata – Black-eyed Susan vine

Sources: Allergy-Free Gardening, by Thomas Leo Ogren, Creating a Low-Allergen Garden, by Lucy Huntington, Peter Prakke, Horticulturalist, Olivia Kirk, Landscape & Garden Designer for KKE Architects and Melissa Gable, University of California Davis arboretum.

See Also: Plants to Avoid

• America’s Trees of Allergies - Allergic Living‘s field guide to U.S. tree pollen allergies.
• The Trees of Sneeze - Allergic Living‘s field guide to Canadian pollen allergies.
• Hay Fever Handbook - Everything you’ll need to know about managing Spring allergies.
• All About Eye Allergies – Weeping, itching and rubbing. How do you find relief?
• Gardening with Allergies – Great tips; plants to look for.
• Gardening with Allergies - Plants to avoid.
• Oral Allergy Syndrome – Science of tree pollen cross-reactions with food.
• Tree pollen, fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices – What can react with what.
• A Life with Fruit Allergies – What you can and can’t eat with Oral Allergy Syndrome.
• Spring’s Hidden Toll – “hay fever” is more insidious than it sounds.
• Beat the Pollen - Allergic Living‘s 10 ways to beat pollen.

Summer

• Grass Allergy - All about symptoms, coping and medications.
• Grass Pollen cross-reactions.
• Oral Allergy Syndrome - Science of tree and grass pollen cross-reactions with food.
• A Life with Fruit Allergies – What you can and can’t eat with Oral Allergy Syndrome.
• First Person: Summertime, and the Eating Ain’t Easy
• Gardening with Allergies - Includes plants to look for.
• Gardening with Allergies – Plants to avoid.
• Beat the Pollen - Allergic Living‘s 10 ways to beat pollen.
• Stinging Insect Allergies - The troublemakers and when to worry about a reaction.

Fall

• Ragweed Allergy – How to get a grip on it and prevent fall misery.
• Ragweed Allergy – Why the dastardly allergen is so potent and widespread.
• Ragweed Cross-Reactions – To vegetables and fruits.
• Editor’s Blog “Ode to Ragweed”.
• Guide to Fall Allergies - The season’s biggest offenders; tips to gain control.
• All About Eye Allergies – Weeping, itching and rubbing. How do you find relief?
• Stinging Insect Allergies - The troublemakers; how to spot a serious reaction.
• Oral Allergy Syndrome - Pollen and fruit cross-reactions.
• Mold- and Pollen-proofing

See Also:

• Allergy-Proofing Your House.
• Pet Allergies.