EVERYWHERE in the developed world allergies are on the rise, whether it鈥檚 hay
fever, asthma or frightening reactions to foods as diverse as peanuts and
shellfish. Not surprisingly, there is a widespread belief that this allergy
epidemic is somehow related to the unnaturalness of modern life. Supposed
culprits run from the army of manufactured chemicals we are exposed to, to the
excess cleanliness of the environment in which children grow up.
It is strange then to hear that at least one part of the allergy epidemic
might be explained by our desire for greenness and naturalness in urban life.
According to Tom Ogren, a California horticulturalist, we have been filling our
gardens with the wrong plants and lining our streets with the wrong trees
(see p 46).
Many are male plants that produce prodigious amounts of pollen to spread in
the wind. If only we had chosen traditional insect-pollinated plants, or learned
to love females despite the mess they make when their seed pods and fruit fall,
we鈥檇 have a lot less pollen in the air and many fewer hay fever sufferers.
Another plus is that we鈥檇 have more bees and butterflies too.
So, be warned, if Ogren is right, 鈥渓ow-allergen gardening鈥� is going to be a
new buzz-phrase. Keep it in mind when you鈥檙e out re-stocking your borders.
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