Free London Event this Weekend & How to Create a Sneeze-free Garden
Mid-June is the peak of the hayfever season, due to high levels of airborne pollen. I’ve never suffered from hayfever before, but somehow it seems that I’ve got most of the symptoms this year.
Luckily a stunning pop-up, low-allergen garden on London’s Southbank is opening its gates to the public from today until Sunday. The garden has been designed by allergy relief brand Piriton using only low-allergen plants. By ensuring that every plant used adheres to strict low-allergen criteria, this vibrant green space offers a haven for everyone this summer.
An abundance of more than 2,000 plants have been used to create this innovative, bespoke garden design. The bright display of plants will radiate colour using a diverse range of vivid Begonias, Fuchsias, Petunias, Geraniums, Hibiscus, Clematis and Bay trees to name a few of the many species.
Leading gardening journalist and former editor of BBC Gardener’s World Magazine, Adam Pasco, put together some top tips to help you enjoy your own garden.
Top tips to create a sneeze-free garden at home:
1. Highly perfumed flowers can sometimes trigger an allergic reaction, so avoid growing these if you’re sensitive to strong scent. Choose non-fragrant flowers instead.
2. Plant varieties with double flowers release very little pollen into the air, so choose doubles rather than single flowers with open blooms.
3. When you think of colour consider foliage, features and fancy fabrics rather than flowers. Paint fences, use brightly coloured pots, and add accessories that give your summer garden a boost.
4. Fancy growing your own? Choose leafy crops and salads, like rocket and beetroot, and self-fertile varieties of runner beans and courgettes. Avoid wind-pollinated crops like sweetcorn
5. Consider replacing your lawn with an alternative surface like artificial turf, paving, decking or gravel. If you do want a lawn then make sure it’s regularly mown to prevent grasses flowering.
Visitors to the Sneeze Free Garden will be able to enjoy the tranquility of this oasis in the heart of the capital as well as learn more about the plants used, their low-allergen qualities and more about allergies in general.
The Sneeze Free Garden will be sited at Observation Point, Queen’s Walk, London’s Southbank and will be open to the public from 10am-5pm from Thursday 19 June until Sunday 22 June.
See you there!