Get Ready for Spring — Gardening For Senior Citizens

Are you in a wheelchair and long plant beautiful flowers and grow tomatoes and zucchini? Have you loved gardening all your life but don’t have the hands or knees for it any longer? Do you need a wheelchair or a walker to get around? Don’t despair. Adapt!  There’s plenty of help in the form of advice, tools, raised flower beds and other equipment.

 Do a Google search of “Disabled gardening tools” and you will find lots of resources. It certainly isn’t easy to do gardening with a care-giver while sitting on a chair, instead of on the ground, squatting or bending over. Think about building raised flower beds and scattering containers throughout your garden area. Buy cheap plastic outdoor chairs and place one beside each mini-garden. No dragging of chairs required! Sit down and enjoy the feel of moist earth beneath your fingers and breathe in the heavenly smell.  

You can even hang a cup holder on the edge of your container and enjoy the luxury of tea or coffee with your weeds.

Discover and create special areas of your yard for your multiple mini-gardens. Put a beautiful container near your back or front door. Plant wonderfully scented herbs and flowers to greet your family and guests. Plant cherry tomatoes and strawberries by the side of your house.  Plant a herb garden right outside your kitchen door to make your food amazing.

Get some help for physically demanding gardening. However, you can get tools which extend your arms to reach the ground from a sitting position. Tools with light weight handles are also available. Small, light rakes, hoes, etc work like a charm. Think ratchet pruner, rachet lopping shears … let the laws of physics and innovative gardening technology give you a helping hand.

To avoid getting too tired pace yourself. Make gardening something you do while you sit and drink a cup of tea and listen to the birds, rather than strenuous physical labor. Take it easy. 

 Think small and buy and plant 3 packs of flowers instead of a whole flat. Take a nice stroll around your garden, “talking to your plants” then go on back inside and take a rest or a nice satisfying nap. Mini-gardening sessions work wonders.

 So when things start to warm up get out there and enjoy your sensible garden!

8 comments March 15th, 2009