Senior-Friendly Gardening: 10 Tips for Safe and Enjoyable Gardening

06/25/2024

Ways for seniors to make the most of their hobby

Gardening is a fun and exciting hobby for many people. Gardening as an activity is great for growing your own produce and flowers, but it is also a great way for people to boost their moods and reduce stress.

However, as you get older, it may not be as stress-free as it once was. This is due to an array of issues that come as you get older, such as mobility, a decrease in strength, lack of time, and tools that are not suitable to use due to illness.

But if you have a will, there is a way. In this article, we provide you with the necessary information on how to navigate gardening as a senior so that you can still enjoy your bobby and reap the benefits.

Why Gardening is Great for the Elderly

As you get older, engaging in gardening can help seniors in multiple ways other than just being a fun activity to participate in.

• It promotes physical activity:
This provides a way for elderly people to move around more and get their energy levels up.
It can prevent osteoporosis and the onset of other diseases.

• Reduces morbidity and mortality rates.

• For those who live in a joint community where there are gardening options for the residents,
it also has multiple social benefits and helps seniors join together in a shared activity.

• Promotes psychological benefits and improves their well-being overall

How to Make Gardening More Enjoyable

Below we will highlight ten ways to make your experience better and more enjoyable.
You will be excited to spend more time in your garden.

1. Raised Beds

These are gardening beds that are raised above ground level. It can be multiple inches high, depending on your specific needs. Raised beds will make the process easier for seniors, as they will not have to bend to ground level in order to engage in gardening. Other benefits include not having to deal with intrusive weeds, it will be neater to deal with, pests won’t get in the way of eating your plants, and you will have greater control over the gardening and soil conditions.

2. Invest in Lightweight Tools

While most tools for gardening are lightweight, some may require a lot of strength to work with. By investing in lightweight tools, it will be a lot less strenuous to use, making gardening easier to navigate. Lightweight tools include trowels, gardening forks, shears, and rakes.

3. Sensory Gardens

These types of gardens help activate the five senses of the gardener. In addition to helping gardeners engage with nature, it stimulates their senses and makes them more aware of their surroundings. These gardens should have an array of colors, different scents, and textures of plants.

To engage sounds, you can incorporate a water feature in the garden or a birdbath. For taste, this is where a herb feature for your garden can come in.

While trying to achieve this, look at plants that are easy to maintain, so as to not give you an additional workload.

3. Landscaping for Easy Maintenance

Gardening can be time-consuming, and it requires a lot of energy to tend to. To minimize gardening multiple days a week, you should focus on the landscape of your yard to help reduce time spent in the garden.

Lawns and pathways do not require a lot of maintenance work. You can also add in a water feature and rock gardens to make tending to plants less stressful.

4. Watering Arrangements

The best way to set up your garden is to group together plants that have similar watering requirements. This is so that you won’t have to spend too much time trying to remember the different plants and their respective specifications. If they are grouped together in accordance with their needs, then it will make the gardening process much easier.

5. Add-Ons in the Garden

In addition to maintaining a garden, you will also want to enjoy the proverbial fruits of your labor. Consider including birdfeeders and seating areas, so that you can enjoy your days comfortably and also engage in hobbies like birdwatching.

6. Vertical Gardening

If you have limited yard space or mobility issues, why not implement a vertical garden? This is arranging soil and plants on a vertical slope. This way you can tend to your plants upright while sitting on a bench or even in a wheelchair. They take out the need of having to get on your hands and knees to attend to the plants.

7. Furniture Gardening

Similar to the purpose of a vertical garden, a furniture garden will see you transform flat surfaces like a tabletop or bench into a small garden space. These will be perfect for a small herb garden or flowers that have special needs and don’t grow in large quantities.

8. Ergonomic Gardening Tools

To make sure that you have a good time gardening, invest in ergonomic tools that make the activity easier. These include tools with non-slip coating for an easier grip. You can also invest in long-armed trowels and clawed gloves. Remember to use tools to prevent snow and frost from settling on your plants in the winter by using frost blankets, so that your gardening ventures are not in vain. These blankets prevent the plants from getting damaged in the cold weather.

9. Kneeler Seats

If getting down to the level of your garden bed is difficult, you can get kneeler seats, which allows you to reach the garden bed’s level. It makes getting up less strenuous thanks to the bars on either side of the seat. If you prefer to sit and tend to your gardens, the seats can be flipped and act as a stool for you.

10. Protection

Gardening means spending time in the outdoors. This means that you need to protect your skin at all costs. Ensure that you wear a hat and sunscreen to prevent sunburn. In addition to this, keep a small bag with snacks and water so that you can refuel while you work in your garden.

Final Thoughts

Gardening has many benefits for the mind and body, while this is true as you get older, your body may need some extra assistance to work in your garden. There are multiple ways to make your gardening experience better as you get older. This includes raised gardens, specially designed tools, and making sure that you can enjoy the work you put into the growth of your plants.

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Thank You to Our Guest Blog Writer:

Sue Briggs

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