Let’s get busy and yank out the broom | LETTER TO THE EDITOR


May 2, 2012 · 1:14 PM

To the editor:

Worst allergy season ever!

Even those of us who rarely experience problems with pollen are wheezing and coughing. Whether or not you are a climate-change denier, no one is denying that West Coast pollen counts are higher than usual.

A major method of mitigating allergens is to remove Scotch broom now before it pollinates. Start with your yard. Yank out the broom before it blooms. Bainbridge Island parks at Battle Point and the Bainbridge Island Land Trust at Marge Williams Center will both lend out weed wrenches for free and these pullers are easy and fun to use. Smaller plants pull right out by hand as long as the ground is still damp.

Then clear your neighborhood. Several of us have kept Miller clean of noxious weeds from Koura to Bainbridge Gardens and another boon of broom removal is that road-side trilliums are more plentiful and visible than ever before.

Do it now before it’s too late!

JEANNETTE FRANKS

Olympic Terrace

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