Gardening Gain With a Lot Less Pain

Anyone can garden. I know people who tend water gardens from wheelchairs, and people with severe arthritis who still rake, prune, hoe, and tend to their yards as if they were still as young and spry as we all would like to be. Our gardens may not be as large as we once dreamed, and we may bypass some of the finickier plants that demand lots of pampering. But we can still garden.

Remember - having a disability does not mean that you are disabled. It simply means that you can't do everything as easily and in the same way that you once did. You may need to make certain adaptations in your garden, and certain changes in the way you grow things. You may also find that ergonomic tools or those with longer handles will allow you to continue many of your favorite gardening chores with relative ease. There are even companies that make adaptive tools for those with weak arms and hands.

So before you look out at your bare yard with wistfulness, stop and think. How can we best create an enabling garden that you can tend with minima outside help?

The first thing you want to look at is your hardscaping. That means raised beds and paths.

Paths

If you are on crutches, you know what a slip can mean. So create paths to your garden areas that are non-slip.

Grass isn't a good option either, nor is crushed rock or river rock - they create too irregular a surface for easy navigation. Packed soil is, as long as it stays dry - but if you're in a damp and rainy climate avoid this. Wood also gets slippery - plus it's prone to rot. And wood chips are tough to navigate with wheelchairs and canes.

Your best bet is rolled gravel or concrete. Concrete can look cold and unforgiving, so consider creating paths that are edged and sectioned in brick and then filled in with gravel. The gravel should be angular in shape instead of round. Make sure it contains "fines" which help the gravel to pack down tightly. You can also use gravel screenings, which range in size form ¼" to dust-like or very small pieces of decomposed granite. Keep the layer thin, as pushing your way through a thick layer can be heavy going.

Sandstone pavers provide more traction and are a better option, plus they are attractive. As they can be expensive, you might consider using them as an outline - edging the path or pavement and dividing it into squares or geometric shapes, then filling the insides with gravel. Avoid using wide joints packed with sand, as they are easy to trip on.

Remember that curves are easier to negotiate than sharp turns. Edge guides will keep wheelchairs on course, and handrails may be helpful for those who have difficulty walking. It's pleasant and often useful to tuck small garden benches in along the garden path.

If your land slopes, you may need to have it graded. A path should rise no more than one foot per 20' of length. One foot per 33 feet is even better - easier on the arms if you are trying to roll a wheelchair uphill. If your yard is large, choose a section that is easy to access and make it as level as possible. That will be the site of your main garden.

As for width - typically you want a path wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Three feet is minimum for two-way traffic. If you are navigating a wheelchair, a 4' width lets you make a 90 degree turn without putting it in reverse. A 5 ft. width lets you make a fill 180 degree turn.

Raised Beds

None of us bends as easily as we used to and many of us develop real back problems as we get older. Raised beds help us out in two ways. First, we don't have as low to go to reach the soil. Second, the hard material we use to edge the bed gives us a handy place to sit while we work. (And as a bonus, we can control the type of soil we fill those raised beds with, thus avoiding the typical struggles with heavy clay, lots of rocks, etc. that plague those who garden directly into the ground.)

Use bricks, fieldstone, or rot resistant woods such as cedar or cypress. Avoid old railroad ties and pressure treated wood as it contains arsenic and can pose a health hazard. Other possibilities include pouring concrete edging, or using cinderblocks. Don't sneer - you can fill the holes in the cinderblocks with rock garden plants so that the entire face of your raised bed is covered in blooms and greenery. Nowadays you can also get "logs" or wood rails that are actually made from recycled plastic that won't ever rot - although they are extremely heavy, so that you will need help installing them.

Make the edges wide enough to sit comfortably on. Make the beds themselves narrow enough that you can reach easily to tend your plants. Normally the recommended depth of the bed is 2' if you are working from the front only and 4' if you can access it from both front and back. But depending on your reach, it can be wider or more narrow. Take your favorite gardening tool, and measure the length of arm plus tool extended so that you can work comfortably with it.

As for height - this depends on you. It should be high enough for you to be able to get up and down from it comfortable. Generally this is anywhere from 6"-12". This is a good height even for people gardening from a wheelchair. A better test for the wheelchair bound is to measure 12" out from the chair then let your hand drop naturally. This drop will let you know the most comfortable height at which you can work. If you have weak arms, however, a height of 18"-24" will be easier on you.

Experts recommend that your raised bed be no longer than 10'. But if you are hooked on gardening, try to judge wisely. If you have the strength and energy to garden a larger space, make it longer - or make more than one raised bed. If you like a formal look, why not four equal squares around a central round raised bed?

If your energy is low, but you live to garden, then containers can be a great option. Choose large ones that become mini-raised beds, and surround them with smaller ones. The new lightweight pots on the market now look so much like stone or terra cotta that I made a man duck when he saw me pull one from a tall shelf while straining on tiptoes - but the fairly large container actually weighed only a few ounces. Light enough to lift even when filled with a well-drained potting mix. If it is too heavy, consider putting the pots on stands with rolling casters so that you can rearrange them easily.

Watering

Hauling a hose takes energy. If you can afford it, consider having a drip irrigation system with timers laid into the raised beds while they are being built. If not, consider using soaker hoses that sit on the surface of the soil and emit a very small but steady trickle of water into the soil. If selecting these, your beds should be relatively small, as it can be tricky to snake one around so that it hits each and every plant in your design -and linking too many together creates the risk of leaks. Water supplied at ground level is best for the plants and helps to avoid problems with mildew. But if your beds are already in place and too large for surface soakers, consider an overhead watering system that is permanently in place, so that you need only turn on the faucet to water the entire garden.

You will still want a source of water for emergencies - small plants that need a sudden transfusion of moisture in droughts, quick clean-up of the gardener, etc.. This will also allow you to hook up a short hose and light watering wand if you find that some plants do need extra moisture.

Try to keep the moisture loving plants closest to the faucet, and the drought tolerant farthest away. That way you can tend to the thirsty with a minimum of movement on your part.

The Plants

First of all - unless you are truly in love with them, avoid plants that demand lots of pampering. Choose natives and easy care exotics that will thrive even if you have to neglect them a bit. Make sure that you choose the right plants for the right place - shade lovers if your beds are in shade, etc.

Consider using a lot of easy care and attractive shrubs to not only fill space but also to give the garden "bones" - a structure that gives the garden some shape and interest even in winter.

Unless you live in a rainy climate, try to select plants that tolerate drought well. Minimizing watering chores is a great energy saver.

You can grow a range of plants with different needs - but group them together. Watch the light patterns, and group those that prefer some shade together; those that love basking in the sun in a group, the moisture lovers in one area, etc. That way you can tend them in groups, without having to keep notes about which plants want what, wasting mental energy and requiring you to ramble through the beds in a spotty fashion trying to give each plant what it needs.

Fill in bare spots with groundcovers, and make sure to mulch everything well. This holds moisture into the soil and really cuts down on the weeding chores.

The Tools

Try to keep the tools that you use most often together and handy. In my shade garden I keep my hand tools in a mail box on a wooden post. In the sunny garden I have a tool bucket with a lid that doubles as a seat, so that I can sit on it while I work, and simply each down to the pocketed apron that is tied around it to gain access to the tools I need. If the garden is small and you don't need to move the bucket around a lot, use the interior of the bucket for things like plant food and other miscellaneous garden needs.

Do check out the new ergonomic tools that are easier on the hands and back. As a rule, the longer the handle on a hand tool the easier it will be to work with. You will need to lean less and have a further reach. For tools to be used standing, those with a T-shaped handle (or a D-shaped one) will give you the best leverage with the least effort. Pay attention to the length of the tool, too. If you are tall, they do make hoes and rakes that are extra long. If you are short, try investing in good quality children's tools. Scotts makes a line of Real Tools for Kids which are as strong as those made for adults - just smaller.

If you lack arm or hand strength, there are hand tools with special grips that make digging almost effortless because they employ an entirely different and usually stronger set of muscles than do ordinary tool handles. Some have a pistol-handled fist grip. Some even have an arm brace. You slip your hand through a circular ring and rest it on a metal rod that connects to the business end of the tool. That way the tool does most of the work while your arm is resting. A couple of excellent brands for these are Peta Fist Grip tools, and those by Earth Bud-eze.

As for pruning and cutting tools, Fiskars has an excellent reputation for ergonomically designed pruning shears, loppers and pruning sticks that have won awards because of their ease of use even by people with severe arthritis.

Maybe you haven't the time or resources to make all of these changes - but even adapting a few of the ideas here should enhance the time you spend working in your garden. After all - scientists have proved over and over again that gardening is good for our health. Let's do all we can to make sure we can keep on gardening and enjoying it to the max.