"A garden is a lovesome thing"
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Gardening is a labour of
love and one activity that many people with arthritis continue to find not only
enjoyable but also therapeutic. With a little planning and adaptation, your
garden can still be
a source of great
pleasure.
The first place to start with is
the gardener's head! You know that you enjoy gardening and want to continue.
Now take off the rose-tinted glasses and look at your body as it is today. Ask
yourself:
Where do I
hurt?
How long
can I work before I get tired?
How can I
best plan my time?
Is it
realistic for me to keep my garden?
The answer to the last question is
"Yes!" And here’s the plan.
Conserve Energy and Protect Your
Joints
Do you enjoy the heavy work? Do
you have to do it?
·
Check out seniors' networks at your community centre,
churches, service clubs or boy scouts. Try advertising for help at the local
high school or in a newspaper. Some of these local services are free.
·
Identify those jobs that leave you overly tired, or
cause pain for more than an hour. Then offer to trade jobs with a neighbour.
·
Plan your garden work schedule. Do a little every
day.
·
Get a check-up by an occupational therapist to see if
you are protecting your knees and feet with the right shoes or if splints would
help support painful joints.
·
Take a 10-minute break in every hour and sit on the
seats you have built in your garden. You will keep going longer. While you’re
resting, try to work out ways to do jobs differently that will conserve your
energy and protect your painful joints.
·
Use a kitchen timer to monitor your activity and curb
your enthusiasm.
·
Respect pain. If you have pain for more than one hour
after activity, reduce the length of the next gardening session, or increase
your rest periods.
·
Try to gauge your energy level. It will vary from day
to day. Don’t finish your work feeling exhausted—you’ll get discouraged.
·
Be on the lookout for tools that could reduce stress
on the joints, such as long-handled clippers or a two-wheeled cart.
·
Make sure your tools are sharp and well oiled. It’ll
make them easier to use.
ADAPTING YOUR GARDEN
Getting
around your garden in a safe, accessible manner is very important!
·
Use ramps or gently sloping paths if walking is a
problem.
·
Paths should be 1 m (3 ft.) in width—1.3 m. (4 ft.)
if a wheelchair turn is essential.
·
Paving slabs should have a rough surface for
traction, with no more than 1/2 cm. (1/4 in.) space between, so that a walking
aid won’t get stuck.
·
Stepping stones should be at least 60 cm. (2 ft.) in
diameter—or wider if you’re using a walking aid.
·
Keep your walking surfaces moss-free with a
commercial moss killer. Moss can be very slippery.
Pace
yourself when working in the garden. Remember it is a labour of love.
·
Plan rest areas in your garden—benches, chairs, edges
of raised beds, etc. And put them in areas where you can enjoy the beauty
you’ve created.
Minimize
Lawn Care
A
beautiful garden need not have expanses of lawn.
·
Use ground covers in place of lawn if you can. Or
consider using patios, inorganic mulching or decorative rocks.
Quenching
their thirst helps growing plants thrive.
·
Have pipe installed, with many sockets, the length of
your garden. This allows you to use lighter, shorter lengths of garden hose.
·
Enquire about commercially installed watering
systems.
·
Easy to install irrigation systems are also
available.
Don't
ignore your needs for the sake of your garden's needs.
·
Keep tool storage near to your intensive work areas.
Simplicity
provides a natural appeal.
·
Beds should not be wider than 60 cm (2 ft) if access
is from one side only.
·
Replace flowerbeds with shrubs, herbaceous and
perennial plants that are easier to care for.
·
Replace flower borders with paved or concrete areas
on which you can display containers. Containers can be a lot less work than
full flower beds and borders.
Easy does it. Arthritis-friendly practices are practical for
everyone.
·
Mulch whenever possible.
·
Use ground cover to keep out weeds.
·
Use landscape fabric under the topsoil before
planting.
.
Raised
beds make sense. They’re better for your body, and they often make a better
garden.
·
You can sit or stand to garden comfortably. Beds
should not exceed 1.3 cm (4 ft.) even if you can access them from both sides.
·
You can cut down on your work by gardening
intensively in smaller areas.
A portable, potable garden allows your creativity to
blossom.
·
Use freestanding containers for planting.
·
Raise them to your work level. Be creative: try
stacked tires, barrels, concrete drain pipes, metal drums, flue pipes, an old
bathtub or sink.
·
Hanging baskets are easy to manage. You can even
install a pulley to lower them for care and then raise them again. Use thread
bobbins as handgrips on the pulley rope.
Reach new
heights; maximize the space you have.
·
Use fences or trellises to grow climbing plants and
creeping vines, and zucchini. Do this with raised beds, too.
·
When building fences and trellises, think of them as
potential handholds and seats. Build them sturdily and use them often.
·
Espaliered fruit trees are easier to harvest and care
for.
·
Grow dwarf fruit trees. The rewards are easier to
reach.
Don't
restrict your pleasure. Think inside the walls too.
·
Use a bay window, sunny room or warm window for a
greenhouse.
·
If you live in an apartment, you can still have a
garden—on the roof, on your balcony or in window boxes.
·
If you don't have enough light, use a specific grow
lamp, or fluorescent tubes.
·
Start a specialty such as bonsai, cactus, African
violets or orchids.
·
Try hydroponic gardening.
·
Use worms to create compost in a plastic container
indoors.
The tools you use can make all the difference. Use
lightweight tools that are adapted for each specific task. Easier ways of
gardening make sense.
Sensible
gardening starts from the ground up.
·
Use easy compost bins or wire enclosures.
·
Compost by "digging in" kitchen and garden
refuse. Add nitrogen if you're using this method.
·
Lightweight spades with extra handle length will give
you better leverage and protect your back.
·
Check the length of handle on the tools you use
regularly. They should be as long as your own height. The shorter the handle,
the more effort you have to put out for digging or pruning.
Sow the
seeds of friendship: have a planting party.
·
Use seed tapes instead of individual seeds. They take
less work.
·
If not using raised beds, use your garden fork tines
to make the seed holes. Paint the tines to mark the depth. Use 1 m (3 ft.) long
2.5 cm (2 in.) diameter PVC tube to drop seeds into the hole. That way, you
don’t have to bend over or kneel down.
·
Let peas and beans germinate in wet newspaper before
planting.
·
Use a step-on bulb planter for tulips and daffodils.
·
Allow plants to self-seed.
Easier does it.
Arthritis-friendly practices are practical for everyone.
·
Use a low stool to reduce the need to bend.
·
If your coordination is good, find a stool with large
wheels so that you can move more easily around your garden.
·
Pad the handles of your hand tools with foam to
enlarge the grip.
·
Make sure your tools are sharp. They’re much easier
to use.
·
Use landscape fabric to cut down on the amount of
weeding.
·
Use long-handled tools where possible. The handle
should be as long as your own height.
·
Add a handle halfway down a long-handled tool for
leverage.
There are
many practical, inexpensive watering devices available.
·
Cut down on watering where possible—use mulch.
·
Use soaker hoses and leave them in place.
·
Set up a sprinkler and leave it in place. Use a
timing device to turn it on and off.
·
Use rain barrel and scoop for small areas and pots.
They can be decorative as well as practical.
·
If your hose outlets aren’t within easy reach, leave
the hose attached.
·
Use perforated roofing gutters to water several
plants at one time.
·
Plastic water wands let you reach without bending or
reaching, so you can water and fertilize without strain.
·
Make sure your watering can is a good design for
two-handed use.
·
Use a “red wagon” to move your watering can from
place to place.
·
Buy plant pots that have a reservoir attached.
Nothing is more satisfying than reaping the fruits of your
labour.
·
Use long-handled reachers. Barbeque tools are a great
help to reach fruits and vegetables.
·
Use clippers that cut and hold the flower or
vegetable.
·
Tie a bag or can around your waist to carry the load
as you walk, or use an apron with a large pocket.
·
Use a two-wheeled cart or wheelbarrow to reduce the
stress on your back and arms.
·
Use clothes pins instead of twist ties. They’re
easier to manipulate.
Take the time to clean up your tools and garden debris. It
will help you avoid injury.
·
Wear a multi-pocket apron for string, ties and
clippers. But make sure all the weight is not on your neck.