Have you ever given much thought to gardening tips for older people?
gardening tips for older people
When I was a child I spent a huge amount of time in my granddad’s garden. I loved it . We would sit in his green house and chat and he would water his tomato plants and seedlings and the sun would shine through.
The shelves his plants were on were high in the greenhouse and he did not have to bend at all to water them and he manged them easily and they flourished.
The actual garden was more of a problem for him and he would have to clamber over a rocky bed and bend to pull out weeds and water his roses and in the end it all got a bit much for him.
Reflecting on this and the frustration it caused him I realized he needed a garden better designed to suit his needs. he loved his garden and it made him so happy and he got both the physical benefits of exercise and fresh air plus the mental benefits of stimulation and self esteem for the flowers and veg he produced. With juts a few tweaks he really could have enjoyed his garden for far longer.
10 Gardening Tips for Older People
So what would make a garden easier for older people to manage? Here are some thoughts .
- A great hose/sprinkler system would be useful. Watering cans can be heavy and cumbersome and a really good hose that curls itself back up and is attached fairly high on a wall plus a good sprinkler system would be much easier for an older person to manage.
- Paths in the garden need to be both flat and level to avoid falls. Gravel, cobbles and slippery surfaces should also be avoided for the same reason.
- It is a good idea to install grab rails and have gradual slopes rather than steep slopes to avoid accidents.
- Paths would ideally be wide enough so that walkers and wheelchairs could get around them
- A resting place or two in a larger garden would be really helpful.
- Retractable hanging baskets reduce the need for stretching and straining.
- Raised beds make gardening so much easier for older people too.
- Go for low maintenance wherever possible and perhaps consider artificial grass?
- Long reaching gardening tools save bending and stretching and yet enable older people to steel maintain their independence when it comes to their garden.
- Perennials come back every year and only have to be planted once. These are a much better option for older people to have in their garden than annuals as it massively reduces their workload.
Gardening tips for older people are all about making life easier and safer in the garden so older people can keep on gardening!
10 Gardening Tips for Older People is a collaborative post
