5 Tips for Accessible Gardening

Aarp

5 Tips for Accessible Gardening"


Play all audios:

    

By Patrick J. Kiger   En español Published April 14, 2022



Since she took up gardening 35 years ago, Toni Gattone has appreciated the joy of time spent outdoors tending to plants and growing her own food.​


​“This is so beneficial for us — mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually,” says the 74-year-old resident of Marin County, California. Beyond exercise and fresh air, “when you’re


out in the garden, you’re not thinking about what’s going on in the news. You’re thinking about that plant in front of you and what you can do to nurture it.”​


Members only


​As she got older, an arthritic back made some gardening chores painful for her. Rather than quit, Gattone adapted, as she details in her book, The Lifelong Gardener: Garden With Ease & Joy


at Any Age. She redesigned her home garden, installing waist-high raised beds that enabled her to do her gardening without a lot of painful bending. To water her plants, she started using


lightweight hoses that are less arduous to lift, and she switched to a thumb-controlled sprayer to lessen the stress on her hands from too much hard gripping.​


​With a little planning, most people can continue to reap the benefits of their backyard garden, even if they have disabilities or age-related declines in strength and endurance. A garden


designed for accessibility and safety, special adaptive tools that compensate for physical limitations, a sensible gardening routine that manages exertion, and other safety and health


measures can make gardening a healthy, rewarding lifetime pursuit.​


​The key is “to garden smarter, not harder,” says Pat Patterson, a master gardener who retired after working for 30 years for the Oregon State University Extension Service and still


volunteers to help people learn adaptive gardening techniques.​


​Getting some advice from an expert at a local university or community program is a smart way to start. When Patterson is counseling older gardeners, she has them take a self-assessment


questionnaire, which can uncover issues they need to work around — from hand or back problems to unfamiliarity with gardening tasks that might make them more vulnerable to injuries.​


Trending News

The page you were looking for doesn't exist.

You may have mistyped the address or the page may have moved.By proceeding, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and our ...

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Write ‘Sittin’ on a Fence’ in Vintage Clip

Back in the spring of 1965, the Rolling Stones embarked on a quick two-day tour of Ireland, much of which was captured b...

Unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson became one of the country’s most powerful insurance execs before tragic killing

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Brian Thompson was a mainstay on UnitedHealth Group’s leadership team, working up the ranks over tw...

Stephen colbert sets 'late show' start date

TV & Movies CBS also announces that some 'Colbert Report' staff will jump networks with him When we last s...

Film editors make the story work on multiple fronts

Movies are never just _one _story. Thanks to skillful writers, directors and — ultimately — editors, they interweave mul...

Latests News

5 Tips for Accessible Gardening

By Patrick J. Kiger   En español Published April 14, 2022 ​Since she took up gardening 35 years ago, Toni Gattone has ap...

Lgbtq newspaper secures seat in white house briefing room for the first time

The Washington Blade, the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the U.S., has become the first LGBTQ publication to be assigned a de...

Weekend Update: Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Overturning Roe v. Wade - SNL

Entertainment & Arts Weekend Update: Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Overturning Roe v. Wade - SNL May 8, 2022 12:13 PM PT ...

Film editors make the story work on multiple fronts

Movies are never just _one _story. Thanks to skillful writers, directors and — ultimately — editors, they interweave mul...

Stephen colbert sets 'late show' start date

TV & Movies CBS also announces that some 'Colbert Report' staff will jump networks with him When we last s...

Top