A home gardener recently took to Reddit to air their frustrations with a neighbor suffering from an unlikely case of allergies.
In a post to r/NativePlantGardening, the home gardener said they planted goldenrod in their garden to help support local pollinators. The plants have been doing just that, attracting "27 bumblebees in a minute, and a few honeybees, green bees, wasps, and some small little tiny bees." But their neighbor isn't thrilled with the golden plant.
"I am delighted to see many pollinators on a single plant. The cloud of insects and the sound is just amazing to me," the poster wrote. "However, the neighbor wasn't so excited. She has a 'serious allergy' because of my goldenrod and [says] she can't go out to her yard. She didn't understand why I let this 'weed plant' grow in the garden and suggested I 'pull it out.'"
In expressing her frustration, the gardener said she didn't think the plant could cause severe allergies like her neighbor says. And commenters seemed to agree the plant isn't likely to cause the neighbor's sneeze.
"Most plants that rely on insect pollinators, including goldenrod, don't cause allergies because their pollen is 'sticky' to help it stick to the insects and thereby encourage pollination," one commenter wrote. "Goldenrod is very showy, so it gets blamed for allergies that are caused by wind-pollinated flowers."
This commenter knows their stuff. According to the National Wildlife Federation, goldenrod pollen is "large and sticky" and designed to travel on the bodies of pollinators. The plant is not wind-pollinated, meaning goldenrod "is not the source of our seasonal pollen allergies."
The NWF notes that even if someone were to have a goldenrod allergy, they "should be fine in the presence of goldenrods so long as they aren't burying their faces in the flowers themselves."
Other Reddit commenters suggested the neighbor may be confusing goldenrod with ragweed, a wind-pollinated plant that can cause allergies.
"People often confuse goldenrod and ragweed," one commenter wrote. "Ragweed allergies are very common and pollen levels are high in many places right now."
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Some commenters were more straightforward with their thoughts on the situation.
"It's none of her business," another Redditor simply wrote.
Natural meadows have long been disappearing due to agriculture, urban development, climate change, and human intervention. To help revitalize their local areas, home gardeners are turning to native plant life to support local pollinators.
Planting native flowers is also a great way to save money and time on garden maintenance, as these blooms are accustomed to the local weather conditions. The U.S. Forest Service states that, aside from creating a healthier ecosystem for pollinators, native gardening can help reduce air pollution.
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