Ornamental grasses and allergies

I am interested in creating a prairie inspired landscape in my smallish backyard. I would like to use a variety of ornamental grasses with a minimal number of flowers. I have heard that large flowering plants are better for allergy sufferers, because they use their blooms (rather than profuse amounts of pollen) to reproduce. I am the kind of person who takes two daily medications for allergies and am allergic to grass, trees, pollen, etc. Does this mean grasses will cause me fits?

I would be grateful to anyone that can 1) tell me whether grasses are bad for allergies and 2) give suggestions about grasses that might be better for allergies. (And that can survive Wisconsin winters!)

Thanks!

 

I just bought "Creating a Low-Allergen Garden" by Lucy Huntington. She says most ornamental grasses are a problem, including (1)Pampas grass, (2)Blue fescue grass, (3)Gardener's garters, (4)Feather grass.

She suggests as alternatives: (1)New Zealand flax/Phormium tenax Zones 7-10 Sword-shaped, stiff, dark green leaves; (2)Thrift/Armeria maritima Zones 4-8 White, pink or red-purple flowerheads. (3) Daylily/hemerocallis fulva 'Kwanso variegata'. Vigorous clump-forming perennial with attractive foliage and large orange flowers. (4) Gypsophila paniculata Zones 3-9, bears numerous small flowers in summer.

 

I cannot work among Helictotrichon sempervirens in flower without wearing a mask.

 

I also have allergies but have not had any problems with my new Carex Bronco. It is pretty cool looking, small right now but the most unusual coppery cinnamon color. Very interesting to add to the garden.

 

This is not a grass, of course, so it may not affect hay fever sufferers.

 

Are you refering to my Carex Bronco? Not an ornamental grass? It was in the ornamental grass section of the nursery I got it from. The tag had zero information on it, other than the name so I did some online research and they all refered to it as an ornamental grass. I'm new to gardening so that is what I believed to be as true.
here is one of the sites I got some information on it:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1879/

if you are not refering to my post, my apologizes!

 

Ron is referring to your plant, yes - but that's because the genus Carex is actually a sedge (a member of the Cyperaceae). Grasses are members of the Poaceae.

Here's a good starter on telling the difference:

Grasses, Sedges and Rushes - Telling the Difference

 

Wonderful information, thank you for that!
I learned something new today, thanks!
Wonder if I should pass this on to the nursery?? I'm sure they just called anything with that look to it a grass.
Thanks again!

 

Carex "bronco" is actually Carex buchannii or the leather sedge. she rots pretty easily and is very lousy at recovering after a savage boy prune.

keep your eyes out for seslaria, she's a wee cutey

 

Carex is technically a sedge but does look like and is used as an ornamental 'grass'.

 

No point mentioning it the nursery....who would know to go to the Sedge section to get their Carex. From a retail point of view, if it looks like a grass, it's a grass.