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"Gardening helps me wind down and relax after a day's work and I
now get regular physical activity in a way that I enjoy," says Orchid
contributor Roxie Oakes. "Soon after planting black-eyed susans,
coreopsis, cone flowers, and zinnias, I quickly benefited from the
joy of watching the seedlings sprout, then picking fresh flowers
for my house and watching beautiful butterflies each day." Her advice:
"Try gardening in small or big steps. There are many ways to garden
and a wide range of approaches to make a garden accessible and fun
for you."
Making
Gardening Easier
Here
are some of Roxie's tips:
- Make
a garden in a raised bed, planter, box, or other container. This
lets you reach without bending.
- Choose
garden tools that help you function in the smoothest, most efficient
way.
- Consider
using lightweight children's tools.
- Add
gripping material or padding to tool handles to make them easier
to hold and use.
- If
you garden while seated, try long-handled tools. You can fit a
broomstick or tennis racket handle into the socket of a trowel
or fork head. For little jobs use long-handled barbecue tools.
- Mulch,
mulch, mulch. This keeps down most weeds and helps the garden
thrive with little watering.
- Try
soaker hoses or spray wands for watering. These let you water
with minimal bending or lifting.
- Consider
ratchet pruners and shears for general pruning jobs. These offer
a lot of power with little effort.
- Get
a long-handled pick-up grabber for all of those clippings. You
can find them in some gardening stores, or try a dog's pooper-scooper.
- If
you stand while gardening, have a seat available for resting.
There are many stools, carts, kneeling benches, and pads for sale.
You don't have to spend a lot of money; an inexpensive stool or
tipped-over recycling bin would do.
- A
cart, wheelbarrow, wagon, or plastic tarp helps move things to
and from the garden. Choose the approach that works best for you.
I often pull a tarp on the ground; this works well with my back
strength and balance.
[By
Pam Dickens, NC Office on Disability and Health]
Resources about accessible gardening...
Health
Promotion for Women with Disabilities
www.nursing.villanova.edu/WomenWithDisabilities/welcome.htm
Accessible
Gardening for People with Physical Disabilities: A Guide to Methods,
Tools and Plants
Adil, Janeen R. Bethesda, MD; Woodbine House, 1994.
Dynamic
Living: Accessible Gardening
www.dynamic-living.com/gardening.htm
Growing
with Gardening: A Twelve-Month Guide for Therapy, Recreation and
Education
Moore, Bibby. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press,
1989.
The
Able Gardener: Overcoming Barriers of Age and Physical -Limitations
Yeomans, Kathleen, RN. Pownal, VT: Storey Communications, 1992.
The
Enabling Garden: Creating Barrier-Free Gardens
Rothert, Eugene, HTM. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing, 1994.
See also ...
NC
Botanical Garden Offers Horticultural Therapy Program
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