Gardeners are a bit like ostriches. They spend their days with their heads in the ground and their backsides up in the air. If they are into big flowery herbaceous borders, they will spend their time weeding, dividing and transplanting their precious poppies, peonies and penstemens. 
And despite every promise they make to themselves and their long-suffering families, if they live on a farm every couple of years they will add a few extra metres to the garden and make even more work for themselves. And then, lo and behold their back gives in and gardening is out of bounds.
That’s more or less what happened to me three years ago when I was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis in my spine. I remember the consultant asking me what my hobbies were. It was a short list. Gardening. That’s all I was interested in.
“Well that’s out,” she said. “No more bending, no more squatting. No more gardening for you.” I was shocked.
Abandon all my beauties
That first winter I had to abandon my snowdrops. If I even went near them, the urge to start weeding and dividing was overwhelming. It got worse. That summer I had to watch my gorgeous herbaceous border become overgrown and consumed by weeds. This long border was my pride and joy and I had to ignore it. That wasn’t easy as it’s straight in front of the kitchen and sitting room windows so I couldn’t avoid seeing it.
A raised flower border in spring.
Occasionally, I gave in to my urge to garden and went at it hell for leather for a couple of hours. But for a finish, apart from lawn mowing and hedge trimming, the flower garden was left to languish. So what to do? I was determined to keep my garden, so I just had to rethink how it was arranged and what I would grow.
Having a rethink
I love plants with lots of colour and flowers and to be honest my borders were only at their best for less than half the year. I’d never been a big fan of shrubs but now they proved useful. With help, I cleared out a third of the border and replanted it with all sorts of hydrangeas. No need for weeding and dividing with these. And they will mature to fill the space.
Another third of the border was planted with small flowering shrubs and trees. These were underplanted with bulbs and sturdy perennials that don’t require much minding such as sedums, crocosmia, astilbies and ligularia.
Mairead’s pride and joy, part of her herbaceous flower border, which she had to abandon for health reasons.
I didn’t have to buy anything new as I just rescued everything from other parts of the border. Everything was wrapped in a dense covering of mulch to cut down on weeding.
The middle section remains a wasteland which has been taken over by Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’. With its red leaves and bright orange flowers it makes a great show in late spring. But on the downside it spreads like the devil and smothers everything in its path. Two big trees – an acer and a multi-stemmed lime create a lot of shade in this area so I will more than likely return it to grass.
Raised beds
No matter what sort of mobility problem you might have, there’s no doubt but that raised beds will go a long way to helping you stay gardening. We already had two raised beds about a metre wide and almost as high. They are very easy to look after as you can reach in from either side. So we decided to build two more raised beds and think carefully about what we planted in them.
The bulbs went in first followed by David Austen roses. I just love the scent of ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ and they flower for months on end and require very little care. Just dead head and prune and that’s it. It’s the same with carpet roses. They hold their shape and flower forever and all you have to do is dead head them a few times a year.
I planted lilies for the first time and along with big blue alliums, geranium ‘Rozanne’ and nepeta the new beds were a riot of colour. All I had to do when weeding or cutting back was to sit on the little wall and work away. No bending or squatting required.
Beating the bug
While my back has improved and I’m back to gardening, I need to watch it. I still weed because I actually like it and I’ve always found it very relaxing. I just let my thoughts wander and before I know it, hours have past while I’m in a world of my own.
I’ve resisted the temptation to cover the raised beds with a week suppressant membrane. Think of all the flower seedlings that would never see light. However, we have invested in adding copious amounts of mulch to the beds and that certainly helps to control the weeds. Just make sure your mulch is weed free.
Weeding to a serious level is something I shouldn’t be doing anymore. But I have good tools – a daisy grubber for tap-rooted weeds, a comfortable kneeling cushion and light short-handled spades and forks. All help. I rarely stay doing the one job for long and that also helps.
Seeing danger
Of course it’s not just a bad back that can stop you in your gardening tracks. Fading eyesight, a fear of falling, bad knees and arthritis in your fingers can sap your confidence and energy and make you cautions on paths and steps.
If you use any sort of mobility aid be it a cane or a wheelchair it’s vital that all garden paths are wide enough and slip proof. Ideally ramps should be built to a gradient of 1:20. Steps can be scary, but a secure handrail will solve this problem.
Gardeners will do anything to stay in their gardens. I know a great woman who, despite being in a wheelchair, would roll along the ground of her sloped garden to tidy up her snowdrops. Now that’s dedication. That’s the magical healing power of gardening. CL
Garden products from The Mobility Shop
Garden kneeler, €41.99
The Garden Kneeler takes the strain out of getting up and down to do gardening tasks.It is made from robust steel tubing designed around a raised, soft comfortable foam seat.
Arms on both sides to assist getting up from a kneeling and sitting position. It can also be turned over to use as a step or seat. Folds for easy storage and transport.
Ready Reacher, €10.49
This practical reacher easily picks up objects without the need for bending or rising. Whether indoor or outdoor, the two-finger trigger and the magnetic serrated jaw effortlessly grips items and retrieves items. The Ready Reacher also features a clip for storing on a walking frame and is the perfect tool for people with poor grip or arthritic hands.
Lumbar Belt, €74.99The Lumbar Belt is excellent for lower back problems, gives you firm flexible support.
Lightweight and breathable with 4 stage hooks and loop fastenings and sewn in flexible stays.
Pocket for removable heat deflective lumbar pad which increases abdominal support for the spine and improves posture. Ideal for sporting activities.
All available from
www.themobilityshop.ie
Gardeners are a bit like ostriches. They spend their days with their heads in the ground and their backsides up in the air. If they are into big flowery herbaceous borders, they will spend their time weeding, dividing and transplanting their precious poppies, peonies and penstemens.
And despite every promise they make to themselves and their long-suffering families, if they live on a farm every couple of years they will add a few extra metres to the garden and make even more work for themselves. And then, lo and behold their back gives in and gardening is out of bounds.
That’s more or less what happened to me three years ago when I was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis in my spine. I remember the consultant asking me what my hobbies were. It was a short list. Gardening. That’s all I was interested in.
“Well that’s out,” she said. “No more bending, no more squatting. No more gardening for you.” I was shocked.
Abandon all my beauties
That first winter I had to abandon my snowdrops. If I even went near them, the urge to start weeding and dividing was overwhelming. It got worse. That summer I had to watch my gorgeous herbaceous border become overgrown and consumed by weeds. This long border was my pride and joy and I had to ignore it. That wasn’t easy as it’s straight in front of the kitchen and sitting room windows so I couldn’t avoid seeing it.
A raised flower border in spring.
Occasionally, I gave in to my urge to garden and went at it hell for leather for a couple of hours. But for a finish, apart from lawn mowing and hedge trimming, the flower garden was left to languish. So what to do? I was determined to keep my garden, so I just had to rethink how it was arranged and what I would grow.
Having a rethink
I love plants with lots of colour and flowers and to be honest my borders were only at their best for less than half the year. I’d never been a big fan of shrubs but now they proved useful. With help, I cleared out a third of the border and replanted it with all sorts of hydrangeas. No need for weeding and dividing with these. And they will mature to fill the space.
Another third of the border was planted with small flowering shrubs and trees. These were underplanted with bulbs and sturdy perennials that don’t require much minding such as sedums, crocosmia, astilbies and ligularia.
Mairead’s pride and joy, part of her herbaceous flower border, which she had to abandon for health reasons.
I didn’t have to buy anything new as I just rescued everything from other parts of the border. Everything was wrapped in a dense covering of mulch to cut down on weeding.
The middle section remains a wasteland which has been taken over by Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’. With its red leaves and bright orange flowers it makes a great show in late spring. But on the downside it spreads like the devil and smothers everything in its path. Two big trees – an acer and a multi-stemmed lime create a lot of shade in this area so I will more than likely return it to grass.
Raised beds
No matter what sort of mobility problem you might have, there’s no doubt but that raised beds will go a long way to helping you stay gardening. We already had two raised beds about a metre wide and almost as high. They are very easy to look after as you can reach in from either side. So we decided to build two more raised beds and think carefully about what we planted in them.
The bulbs went in first followed by David Austen roses. I just love the scent of ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ and they flower for months on end and require very little care. Just dead head and prune and that’s it. It’s the same with carpet roses. They hold their shape and flower forever and all you have to do is dead head them a few times a year.
I planted lilies for the first time and along with big blue alliums, geranium ‘Rozanne’ and nepeta the new beds were a riot of colour. All I had to do when weeding or cutting back was to sit on the little wall and work away. No bending or squatting required.
Beating the bug
While my back has improved and I’m back to gardening, I need to watch it. I still weed because I actually like it and I’ve always found it very relaxing. I just let my thoughts wander and before I know it, hours have past while I’m in a world of my own.
I’ve resisted the temptation to cover the raised beds with a week suppressant membrane. Think of all the flower seedlings that would never see light. However, we have invested in adding copious amounts of mulch to the beds and that certainly helps to control the weeds. Just make sure your mulch is weed free.
Weeding to a serious level is something I shouldn’t be doing anymore. But I have good tools – a daisy grubber for tap-rooted weeds, a comfortable kneeling cushion and light short-handled spades and forks. All help. I rarely stay doing the one job for long and that also helps.
Seeing danger
Of course it’s not just a bad back that can stop you in your gardening tracks. Fading eyesight, a fear of falling, bad knees and arthritis in your fingers can sap your confidence and energy and make you cautions on paths and steps.
If you use any sort of mobility aid be it a cane or a wheelchair it’s vital that all garden paths are wide enough and slip proof. Ideally ramps should be built to a gradient of 1:20. Steps can be scary, but a secure handrail will solve this problem.
Gardeners will do anything to stay in their gardens. I know a great woman who, despite being in a wheelchair, would roll along the ground of her sloped garden to tidy up her snowdrops. Now that’s dedication. That’s the magical healing power of gardening. CL
Garden products from The Mobility Shop
Garden kneeler, €41.99
The Garden Kneeler takes the strain out of getting up and down to do gardening tasks.It is made from robust steel tubing designed around a raised, soft comfortable foam seat.
Arms on both sides to assist getting up from a kneeling and sitting position. It can also be turned over to use as a step or seat. Folds for easy storage and transport.
Ready Reacher, €10.49
This practical reacher easily picks up objects without the need for bending or rising. Whether indoor or outdoor, the two-finger trigger and the magnetic serrated jaw effortlessly grips items and retrieves items. The Ready Reacher also features a clip for storing on a walking frame and is the perfect tool for people with poor grip or arthritic hands.
Lumbar Belt, €74.99The Lumbar Belt is excellent for lower back problems, gives you firm flexible support.
Lightweight and breathable with 4 stage hooks and loop fastenings and sewn in flexible stays.
Pocket for removable heat deflective lumbar pad which increases abdominal support for the spine and improves posture. Ideal for sporting activities.
All available from
www.themobilityshop.ie
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