“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” Langston Hughes. “A dream is only a dream… until you decide to make it real.” Harry Styles. “Life is very short and what we have to do must be done in the now.” Audre Lorde. “In February, there is everything to hope and nothing to regret.” Patience Strong. “February is the shortest month, so if you’re having a miserable month, try to schedule it for February.” Lemony Snicket. “Without Valentine’s Day, February would be well, January.” Jim Gaffigan.
Adaptive gardening may be primarily for senior gardeners who want to continue enjoying their favorite activity but the techniques and garden designs advocated can benefit people of all ages. Here are 9 ways to be an adaptive gardener.
Protecting Your Knees: Knee pain is, arguably, gardeners’ major complaint. To reduce wear and tear, all gardeners who want to get down on their knees close to the dirt should at least invest in a pair of strap-on knee pads. The basic pads are inexpensive but the price goes up for designer styles and colors. Knee pads are available at most home and garden centers, and online.
Protecting Your Back: Protecting your back is also important at any age because backs can “go out” even in one’s teen years. Hopefully, you learned at an early age to lift with your legs, not your back. For added protection, never lift heavy objects above your waist. If you have to lift something higher, do it in two motions. For further protection, don’t carry heavy items like bags of fertilizer or mulch. A garden cart is best but if you wouldn’t use it often enough to justify the investment, just use the kids’ coaster wagon.
Garden Standing Up Or Sitting Down: Who said gardening has to be done at ground level, causing gardeners to wear out their knees and backs prematurely? Raised and elevated beds are as popular now as hanging gardens were in ancient Babylon. But raised and elevated beds aren’t just plain plywood boxes anymore. Those made of wood are more decorative, almost furniture quality. When gardeners began using horse troughs as raised beds, manufacturers began making corrugated metal containers in different shapes, sizes, and colors. You can even buy raised planters made of plastic today. Elevated beds are better for working in a seated position. Raised beds sit on the ground while elevated beds are on legs, providing space for your legs underneath. Wheels can be attached to elevated beds so they can be moved around the garden.
Join The Container Revolution: Container gardening has been growing for a number of years and there doesn’t appear to be any sign that it’s waning. That’s because containers are so convenient. For people with limited space, containers may be the only practical way to garden. People with larger yards use containers for convenience. They have beautiful landscapes but also have an array of containers on the deck or patio right outside the kitchen to grow herbs, tomatoes, peppers, and any other vegetables that they serve frequently. You might even include containers of flowers mixed in with the veggies so you can have a vase of cut flowers on the dinner table every night. Choose containers made of material you can handle easily. If your back and knees are fine now, concrete and ceramic are good choices. If you have back or knee problems or your doctor has restricted the amount of weight you can lift, go for the lightweight plastic.
Manage Your Time For Healthy Gardening: Time management is an important adaptive gardening technique. It’s recommended that senior gardeners work for only the amount of time that’s comfortable for them, beginning the day with the most strenuous task and moving to less strenuous tasks as the day wears on. At the end of each work block, they’re urged to rest, sitting in a comfortable, shady spot. During those rest periods, drink plenty of water. Hydration is very important! Alternating work/rest blocks should apply to gardeners of all ages. The only difference will be the length of the work block. You’ll probably notice that the work block time shrinks every year. Don’t try to tough it out, and don’t skimp on the rest periods. Go with the flow. It’s nature’s way of telling you to slow down.
Your Relationship With Ol’ Sol: Some challenges senior gardeners are dealing with can be prevented if you begin taking care of your body in your younger years. Although gardeners enjoy working in the sun, the sun isn’t always kind to gardeners. A sunburn in your younger years can manifest itself as skin cancer when you’re older. The best prevention is to place a barrier between you and that big yellow star. This can best be done by wearing a long sleeve shirt and long pants. If that isn’t an acceptable option, slather sunscreen on all exposed skin and reapply it every couple of hours. It’s also important that you wear a wide-brimmed hat that covers the tops of your ears and the back of your neck. A baseball cap only shades your face. Sunglasses are important, too. UV rays can exacerbate cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, both of which can begin at a young age and manifest themselves later in life.
Start With Stretches: Although you may be raring to get to your gardening, your body care should include warm-up (stretching) exercises before you begin and cool-down exercises when finished. If you belong to a gym, the trainers can customize a regimen for you. There are also videos and other posts online that can help you develop your own routine. For gardeners under a doctor’s care, talking to your physician before you start your gardening routine.
Make Paths Easy to Navigate: Handrails that begin well before steps or grade changes, and extend well beyond them, will make your garden safe for everyone, not just those with visual impairments.
Light Your Garden Paths for Safety: Your patio or deck is probably well-lit for enjoying pleasant evening activities or entertaining outside. But have you lit paths, the patio edge, and water features for safety and security?
Embrace Imperfection: Nature isn’t perfect so why should you be? Regardless of your age, you probably don’t have the time or energy to tend a formal garden. Adaptive gardening is gardening smarter instead of harder. The time you have to work in your first garden is limited, and the energy you have to work in your last garden is limited. To enjoy gardening and still have time for your other interests and demands of life, garden as Mother Nature does – informally and imperfectly. Happy Valentine’s Day!
This fact sheet is provided as an educational service of the National Garden Bureau (www.ngb.org/adaptive-gardening-at-any-age) with Duane Pancoast.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped…” Philippians 2:5-6. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7. “For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10. “Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.” Proverbs 2:11.