How to Enjoy Gardening for Seniors and the Physically ChallengedGet Gardening Information on mps-gardening.com. How to Enjoy Gardening for Seniors and the Physically Challenged topic will increase your understanding on Gardening Information. We at mps-gardening.com only provide news, articles, information in Gardening Information. Gardening Information at mps-gardening.com provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Welcome to the world of the physically challenged gardener. Don't despair. Adapt! There's plenty of help out there in the form of advice, tools, raised flower beds and other specialized equipment. A Google search of 'Disabled gardening tools' leads to 125 websites with specific helpful adaptive equipment. 'Disabled gardening' gives a whopping 873,000 results where you can find advice and 'handicapped gardening' yields 111,000. Let those arthritic fingers do your walking! Problem: 'The ground is just too far down there!' Think about doing your gardening while sitting on a chair, instead of on the ground, squatting or bending over. The most obvious solution is to build raised flower beds and scatter containers throughout your garden area. Buy cheap plastic outdoor chairs and place one beside each mini-garden so you don't have to drag or carry when it's time to weed. You can just sit down and enjoy the feel of moist earth beneath your fingers and breathe in the heavenly smell of freshly applied fish emulsion. If you hang a cup holder on the edge of your container, you can even have the luxury of tea or coffee with your weeds. Maybe the fish emulsion should wait. Don't think about what you've lost now that you can't crawl around weeding the perennial border; teach your grandchild or a neighborhood kid the joy to be found doing that task ... you've just discovered a new adventure in gardening. The good news is that you may find whole different special areas of your yard where you can stick a mini-garden. Get creative. Put a beautiful container near your front door and plant wonderfully scented flowers to greet your guests ... or perhaps a nice cherry tomato plant they can steal from on their way to ring your doorbell. Put a waist high herb garden right outside your kitchen door and add an area in it for your favorite cut flowers. When you're deciding where to locate the raised bed or container, be sure to remember physically demanding practicalities like dragging a heavy hose to water it. Think and plan a low energy solution for what you'll do with the compost material. Problem: 'My painful hands don't have the strength for ...' You can get tools which extend your arms to reach the ground level flower bed from a sitting position. Several manufacturers make specially tools with light weight handles designed to keep the wrist and hand in a stress-free position and to provide a firmer grip. Small, light rakes, hoes, etc. like this can work wonders. Think ratchet pruner, ratchet lopping shears ... let the laws of physics give your hands a hand. You'll be amazed when you look at the tools available. Pull difficult weeds by stepping on a lever. Problem: 'I get so tired so quickly.' Hey, the weeds didn't grow all at once; you don't have to pull them all at once. Pace yourself. Find ways to make gardening something you do while you sit and drink a cup of tea and listen to the birds, rather than a work chore you slave away at for a full afternoon. Pull one weed from the scented garden near your front door on your way out and another weed on the way in. Plant parsley in your kitchen door herb garden while your toast is toasting and the coffee is dripping. Buy and plant 3 packs of flowers instead of a whole flat. Take a nice aerobic walk around your yard, stopping at a different container for 5 minutes 'conversation' with your plants on each cycle, then go back inside and plop on the recliner. You'll be amazed at how much gets done in these mini-work sessions. Your heart will love you, too.
Remember, one of the nice things about flowers is they don't have anything to prove. We can all learn a lesson from them. |
More Articles:1. A Hedge for the Children 'Isn't that beautiful corn in those people's front yard?' I asked.'I will not have corn growing in my front yard,' said my husband.'Corn is a handsome plant. It gives a lush, tropical air.''I will not have corn growing in my front yard.'So we didn't have corn the next year. Our back yard was shaded, except for one part, and I had decided to grow roses there instead of corn.The year after that I returned to the argument: 'What if we planted corn in the side yard? It gets lots of sun.''I will not … 2. Planting a Container Garden If you are a person not blessed with a big sunny backyard, you need not be deprived of the joy of gardening. You just need to think on a smaller scale. The perfect solution…container gardening. Container gardening is an extremely versatile method of growing not only colorful flowers, but also herbs and even some fruits and vegetables. A container garden is especially ideal for apartment dwellers that often don’t enjoy the luxury of owning any “green space” of their own. The beauty of container g… 3. Flower Delivery through the Internet Ordering flowers from online flower stores is as easy as a children play. Many online flower delivery shops provide a large variety of fresh flowers for those who want to purchase on the Internet. What is more, most online stores help you in finding your personal expression when they deliver your flowers, by including greeting cards with a special message printed on them. Flower delivery can be real fun, as the floral industry works for the individual, but it has moreover spread as a large busin… 4. Advantages Of Solar Landscaping Lights Solar landscaping lights will enhance any existing landscape design. You can find many shapes and sizes to accent any area. If you do any entertaining in your backyard at night you will need some lighting to keep your guests safe. Additionally, you want to showcase all your hard work. This is easily accomplished with landscaping lights. The biggest advantage to using solar lights over more traditional electrical lights is ease of installation. You don't have to hire an electrician to hook eve… |
||||
