Gardening is a pastime that nurtures the body, mind and spirit. Sometimes as we age, however, the “body” makes digging in the dirt a bit more challenging. Seniors who enjoy gardening should know that there are several ways to make gardening easier.
Gardening Safety and Older Adults
1. Raise Your BedsOne of the main reasons gardening becomes troublesome for seniors is all the bending over and kneeling gardeners have to do. It can present a significant fall risk. Raised beds handily solve that problem. Added benefits include better soil drainage, less required space, and improved soil quality.
2. Reduce Your Lawn Maintaining a grass lawn is a lot of work. Some older adults prefer to concentrate on perennials, herbs, or vegetables. A good solution, when you have a lawn that needs constant care, is to reduce the amount of grass that needs tending.
Patty Cassidy, an expert on aging and gardening, suggests replacing high-maintenance grass with some sort of ground cover.
Low-Maintenance Groundcovers:
- herbaceous ground cover like creeping phlox
- low-growing herbs like wooly thyme
- woodier ground cover like juniper
Ms. Cassidy also suggests laying gravel or pretty stones. They can serve as a backdrop for a container garden. You could also plant a tree or install a low-maintenance water feature.
If that still sounds like too much work, consider hiring a neighborhood teenager or a lawn service to handle the grass. Your local agency on aging might have resources to help you safely hire some help.
3. Consider Vertical GardeningWhen plants grow on poles and trellises, they’re much easier to tend. Cucumbers, beans, squash, and tomatoes all make good vertical…
This article was sourced from Five Star Senior Living.