It's Your Life December/January 2015 - 2016 | Page 17

December/January

S

The “Allergy- Fighting Garden”
Book Review
top Asthma and
Allergies with
Smart Landscaping

Joyce Wheeler

I was approached by author Thomas Leo Ogren
with a request to
review his book. When
I saw the title I could
not refuse, all three
of the males in our
home have allergies.
I opted for a hardcopy
to review and I am
glad I did because this
is a must have book
for anyone who deals
with plants, shrubs, or
trees to have on their
bookshelf.
Allergies are
associated with
asthma which I see
in both my husband
and youngest child.
The author states that
those with allergies
to pollen are more
likely to develop food
allergies and intolerances, also when pollen levels
were high there were more deaths. While allergies
may be trigger by multiple things pollen is the most
common. The author states that pollen allergies
can be controlled by the landscaping around our
homes, businesses, schools, and other public
spaces that utilize landscaping.
Thomas has a degree in agricultural science, is

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a horticulturist, and former landscape gardener
instructor, nursery owner, and gardening radio
show host. It was his wife who brought him on his
journey of 30 years of research. She suffered from
allergies and asthma and he witnessed the pain
and misery it brought to her. Upon purchasing a
new home he decided to do some research into
which plants, trees, and shrubs were least likely to
aggravate allergies.
As Thomas searched for materials on the subject
he realized none existed. That led him to do his
own research one plant at a time where he learned
more about botany, medicine, pollen, and the
plant flowering system. This led him to create the
Ogren’s allergy scale which rates plants, shrubs,
and trees on a scale from 1 – 10.
He discusses how
dioecious, separate sex
plants, have a major
effect on our current
health situation via
allergies and asthma.
During the 1940s the
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) suggested that
those growing dioecious
trees or shrubs through
cutting, grafting, and
budding use only the
male section. This was
because the males did
not make a mess on the
ground and sidewalks
like their female counter
parts do. The disturbance
of the natural way things
occurred had a major
impact on the growing
numbers of those with
allergies and asthma.
I like the fact that all the information is easy to
understand, educational, and not wordy and
lengthy at all. He gets to the point in the first 8
chapters which deal with various aspects of plants
and the best way to use them to lower pollen
levels.

2015

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