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The Allergy-Fighting Garden: Stop Asthma and Allergies with Smart Landscaping
Octavo, PP.247, Color Photos, Stop Asthma And Allergies With Smart Landscaping
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2015
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96 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 13, 2015
For millions of people, allergies are no laughing matter. Allergies are not simply a bit of sneezing now and then; they are long days and nights of flat-out misery. Quite a few people have even died from severe reactions to allergenic pollen. In addition, there is now considerable data that demonstrate a powerful direct link between allergies and asthma-a very dangerous and often life-threatening condition. – Thomas Leo Ogren, The Allergy-Fighting Garden
It’s sexism. Botanical sexism, brought on by our modern manipulation of plant genders. In other words? It’s the male’s fault. In the 1950’s, only 2-5 percent of US citizens suffered allergies. By 1999? 38%. Even scarier, asthma is growing 2-3 percent annually – and is reaching epidemic proportions. Why? Human laziness and greed. You see, asexual propagation is easier, quicker and cheaper – and creates consistent male plants. And while male plants are not “messy” – not producing fruits, seeds or seedpods, what they do produce is a lot of allergenic pollens. More pollen – more allergies.
The Allergy-Fighting Garden is very well laid out. From the “why” and “how” of male plants, through why planting your own garden and trees as females instead of male helps your allergies, even though your neighbors don’t, there is wide-ranging information included in the first part of the book. There is even information on ‘sex-changing’ your trees!
Past the technical portions of the book’s beginning the book discusses OPALS: the Ogren Pollen Allergy Scale. From 1 for least allergenic to 10 for most allergenic, the OPALS rating system is utilized throughout the book. From this point the book becomes a plant dictionary, listing Latin and common plant names, OPALS numbers for male and female plants, and clear descriptions – including warnings if particular plants are poisonous, such as Lupinus, common name Lupine, which is poisonous in all forms, and even more so for people who have peanut allergies.
Overall, this is going to be my one “go-to” book for pertinent and useful information laid out in easily researched form. Highly recommended, even if you don’t suffer from allergies.
I received The Allergy-Fighting Garden from the publisher in return for a realistic review. All thoughts are my own.
It’s sexism. Botanical sexism, brought on by our modern manipulation of plant genders. In other words? It’s the male’s fault. In the 1950’s, only 2-5 percent of US citizens suffered allergies. By 1999? 38%. Even scarier, asthma is growing 2-3 percent annually – and is reaching epidemic proportions. Why? Human laziness and greed. You see, asexual propagation is easier, quicker and cheaper – and creates consistent male plants. And while male plants are not “messy” – not producing fruits, seeds or seedpods, what they do produce is a lot of allergenic pollens. More pollen – more allergies.
The Allergy-Fighting Garden is very well laid out. From the “why” and “how” of male plants, through why planting your own garden and trees as females instead of male helps your allergies, even though your neighbors don’t, there is wide-ranging information included in the first part of the book. There is even information on ‘sex-changing’ your trees!
Past the technical portions of the book’s beginning the book discusses OPALS: the Ogren Pollen Allergy Scale. From 1 for least allergenic to 10 for most allergenic, the OPALS rating system is utilized throughout the book. From this point the book becomes a plant dictionary, listing Latin and common plant names, OPALS numbers for male and female plants, and clear descriptions – including warnings if particular plants are poisonous, such as Lupinus, common name Lupine, which is poisonous in all forms, and even more so for people who have peanut allergies.
Overall, this is going to be my one “go-to” book for pertinent and useful information laid out in easily researched form. Highly recommended, even if you don’t suffer from allergies.
I received The Allergy-Fighting Garden from the publisher in return for a realistic review. All thoughts are my own.
April 22, 2015
Happy Earth day! I thought a great way to spend it is talking about the latest gardening book I acquired. This one interested me not about the pollen but about the plants that clear the air and help with mold as well. I loved the author's insight on why there are a growing number of people acquiring seasonal allergies. This is the person who developed a scale on which to judge plants by their allergy content.
The reason Thomas Ogren says we are having an epidemic of allergies is our increased exposure to pollen. He explains that our need for plant that do not "litter" seeds has decreased the number of female plants and increased the male plants... the ones responsible for the pollen. The numbers are not even as they are in nature so the female plants which "clean" the air of this pollen aren't around to do their job. With his plan we can reclaim the area in our space with more air cleaning plants and also presents a plan to contact schools and parks to do the same.
I give this book 5 stars. It is a great book with some insight as to why so many have allergies and what we can do about it. He also has a comprehensive list of plants and how they fall on the scale for allergens and cleaning the air. It is a great book for any gardener out there even if they don't have allergies or asthma.
The reason Thomas Ogren says we are having an epidemic of allergies is our increased exposure to pollen. He explains that our need for plant that do not "litter" seeds has decreased the number of female plants and increased the male plants... the ones responsible for the pollen. The numbers are not even as they are in nature so the female plants which "clean" the air of this pollen aren't around to do their job. With his plan we can reclaim the area in our space with more air cleaning plants and also presents a plan to contact schools and parks to do the same.
I give this book 5 stars. It is a great book with some insight as to why so many have allergies and what we can do about it. He also has a comprehensive list of plants and how they fall on the scale for allergens and cleaning the air. It is a great book for any gardener out there even if they don't have allergies or asthma.
March 3, 2015
As an allergy sufferer, in a family of allergy sufferers this book was eye-opening! In The Allergy-Fighting Garden, author Thomas Leo Ogren paints a vivid picture of why allergies are on the rise. And guess what?
It's our fault!
But we can change it. He states how the problem was started and how we can now work to change it, at least as far as it depends on us. One whole section of the book is devoted to allergy-fighting plants, their hardiness zone and their OPALS rating.
I loved and learned from this book. This is definitely a must-read for anyone who suffers with allergies or lives with someone who suffers with them. I am definitely going to be taking this book with me when I shop for plants from now on!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.
It's our fault!
But we can change it. He states how the problem was started and how we can now work to change it, at least as far as it depends on us. One whole section of the book is devoted to allergy-fighting plants, their hardiness zone and their OPALS rating.
I loved and learned from this book. This is definitely a must-read for anyone who suffers with allergies or lives with someone who suffers with them. I am definitely going to be taking this book with me when I shop for plants from now on!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.
September 12, 2023
This is probably 4 stars as a reference book. But as a gardening book meh. I DID learn that the reason I have allergies is bad USDA policy which as a Libertarian...it tracks. And I like the idea of urban planners particularly considering the allergenic effects when planning very large scale landscaping projects. While I appreciate the author's discussion of non allergenic mulches for those with mold allergies, I find this is where I start to have a great disagreement with his advice. Using stone mulch as he advises literally cooks plants and stresses them, especially trees. NO ONE should be using gravel or stone as mulch. It is a HUGE contributor to both plant death as well as urban heat islands.
I find some of the other actual gardening advice to also be directly contradictory to advice I would provide as a Master Gardener. So overall, the reference guide giving each genus a score based on an allergenic scale is helpful, the history of why we have an allergy crisis in the city is extremely interesting, but overall not great gardening advice for actually keeping those low allergen plants alive.
I find some of the other actual gardening advice to also be directly contradictory to advice I would provide as a Master Gardener. So overall, the reference guide giving each genus a score based on an allergenic scale is helpful, the history of why we have an allergy crisis in the city is extremely interesting, but overall not great gardening advice for actually keeping those low allergen plants alive.
July 22, 2025
Great for exactly what you expect that it will be. I will be rereading it because it is mostly an index of plants rated on the authors personal scale of how allergy causing is each plant compared to species of the same plant type. Very useful when identifying plants that are harmful or helpful to allergies or asthma.
March 8, 2018
Where's the Rest??
This book could have been excellent, especially since I have severe allergies, but the A to Z directory is missing C through R!!!!! I didn't pay much for it, but I still expected to get ALL of it!!!
This book could have been excellent, especially since I have severe allergies, but the A to Z directory is missing C through R!!!!! I didn't pay much for it, but I still expected to get ALL of it!!!
July 15, 2019
Wow. Ok. Yes, please! This is a great book for allergy sufferers. I will be purchasing the book so I can reference it when I go to purchase replacements for all the plants and grasses I'm going to remove.
September 30, 2022
I have terrible hay fever and use this book all the time to see if a plant should be avoided or not. So happy it exists. I just wish the OPALS allergy rating was included on plant labels, Wikipedia, and anywhere else there's info about plants.
November 26, 2017
Many good suggestions and explanations I plan to incorporate in next year’s garden.
January 25, 2019
Fascinating resource explaining how certain plants can cause allergies. Rates a variety of plants using the OPAL scale.
July 4, 2015
Many gardeners are already familiar with horticulturalist Thomas Leo Ogren’s research and writing about allergies and gardening – his books Allergy-Free Gardening and Safe Sex in the Garden have been practical resources for anyone seeking information and guidance about the subject for over a decade. The Allergy-Fighting Garden is a fusion of information from those two titles combined with new research and text, and is designed as an all-in-one design workbook for landscapers and home gardeners wishing to reduce environmental allergy and asthma symptoms.
Part One of the book discusses ways to create an allergy-free garden, including determining the sex of your plant (important to know which ones produce pollen!), planting hedges to block allergens, reducing mold spores, and so on. Part Two is an extensive and highly detailed list of 3,000 allergy-fighting plants to grow, all rated according to Ogren’s OPALS (allergy ranking) system.
Meticulously researched and highly comprehensive, The Allergy-Fighting Garden has an easily accessible alphabetical layout that simplifies use. This is a highly recommended guide for professional and hobby gardeners requiring a healthier landscape.
Part One of the book discusses ways to create an allergy-free garden, including determining the sex of your plant (important to know which ones produce pollen!), planting hedges to block allergens, reducing mold spores, and so on. Part Two is an extensive and highly detailed list of 3,000 allergy-fighting plants to grow, all rated according to Ogren’s OPALS (allergy ranking) system.
Meticulously researched and highly comprehensive, The Allergy-Fighting Garden has an easily accessible alphabetical layout that simplifies use. This is a highly recommended guide for professional and hobby gardeners requiring a healthier landscape.
July 13, 2015
I received a copy of The Allergy-Fighting Garden: Stop Asthma and Allergies with Smart Landscaping from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. Part one of the book includes useful information for planting a garden that will decrease pollinators that cause allergy and asthma symptoms while attracting bees and butterflies, which are needed for a beautiful, healthy garden. I appreciated the section on eliminating mold spores! I enjoy spending time in my vegetable garden, but could never enjoy my front yard flower beds. Last year, I removed every single flowering plant (since I had no idea what most of them were from previous owners) with the intention to start over this Spring. I am excited to try the Ogren Pollen Allergy Scale method when selecting my plants from the nursery. The A-Z plant listings section includes over 150 pages of information with photos. I really like how easy it is to identify the best and worst allergy offenders!
June 25, 2015
Interesting concept that may find wider recognition and acceptance in time. The author posits that there are more seasonal allergies today than previously because for the last 50 years mainly male trees and plants have been used in landscaping, and male plants generally produce the airborne pollen. Wow! He also explains OPALS, the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale. He then has a guide to plants that lists their OPALS. Those with plant allergies, gardeners and allergists should all read this book.
July 22, 2016
Excellent information about landscaping to reduce asthma and allergies. Also appreciated the section on keeping mold and spores to a minimum. I wish there had been more photos, though; for me that was the book's primarily downfall.
November 7, 2015
A must read for those who struggle with allergies. I have had a lifetime suffering from allergies and to be honest suffered unduly, until I learned how to change my landscape to meet my needs. Thank you Mr Ogren!!
May 1, 2016
Good reference book for gardening to minimize allergy, even mold allergy. Provides clear description of plants, their allergic possibilities in clear and concise language.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews