As we get older and our bodies become frailer and start to give up on us, or we have existing and on-going ability or mobility issues, we look to making our lives easier. And this is also true for gardening. After all, there are some gardening jobs – such as digging and hedge cutting – that can be exhausting and strenuous. So, how can we make gardening easier?
The famous gardener and plantsman Christopher Lloyd once said that if you want easy gardening, give up gardening – because it isn’t easy! I don’t quite agree with that statement, and a much better option is to pay for someone to carry out all the strenuous jobs for you or give the whole garden a really good topdressing – of concrete, and pave over the whole thing! Obviously, that is a dreadful option too. So, how can we make gardening a bit easier??
Self-love
Even if we don’t have any health issues, but very importantly if we do, it’s essential to take care of our bodies when getting stuck into any, but especially, heavy gardening jobs. For instance, if you’ve got a large area to dig over, don’t try and tackle it like a triathlete and work at it from dawn to dusk. Do it in smaller chunks – 20-30 minutes at a time – then take a break or do something lighter, and return to it later.
The two areas of our bodies that can take a real battering when gardening are our knees and backs.
When doing any kneeling jobs, protect your knees with a kneeling mat or strap-on knee pads. And if you also have problems getting up and down to your knees, use a kneeling stool. Also, when kneeling, don’t wear wellies. These can cut into the back of your calves, reducing blood flow and cause or exacerbate all manner of health issues. Wear trainers or plastic gardening clogs instead.
As for our backs, most back pain and backache issues come from excessive bending, which puts pressure on our spine and back muscles. Using tools that are too short for you will mean just that, so always choose tools that are the right height – and the right weight – for your personal use. I’m a big fan of Wolf-Garten multi-change tools and all my suitable tools use this system. The shafts come in a range of different lengths, and you can choose the right one to match your height. Lighter aluminium as well as more traditional heavier wooden shafts are also available.
The majority of the major garden tool manufacturers are doing lots of work on and investing in making their tools easier and more effortless to use. The choice of materials – lightweight aluminium compared to downright heavy steel – better designs to make them ergonomic and so simpler to use, and many other innovations are incorporated into modern tools. For instance, ratchet secateurs cut through stems and branches easier than standard secateurs and are a godsend for those who have issues with their wrists or the strength of their hands.
Design solutions
Our gardens are our solace from the day-to-day struggles in life and somewhere to chill out and relax. They are our personal spaces, with features and plants that we love and are close to our hearts. And, even if they’re time-consuming to maintain, we’d never be without them. But there are certain areas that are more time-consuming and difficult to maintain than others.
The lawn is a major case in point. To look their best, they need regular mowing throughout the year, feeding, watering during droughts, scarifying and aerating (exhausting work for even the fittest people on the planet). And dragging the mower out of the shed and carrying it to the lawn can become a major issue. So, maybe the lawn has to go?
Bedding plants are time consuming. You have to sow seeds each year, grow on the plants, plant them out, water, feed and deadhead regularly, then in autumn dig them up and dispose of them. And then do it all again every year. So, maybe some or all of the bedding needs to go too? Permanent shrubs and herbaceous perennials are generally much easier to look after.
Delightful as they are, for all manner of good reasons, hedges need regular cutting. Using shears is obviously time consuming and hard work, especially for long and tall hedges. Yes, a powered hedge trimmer is quicker and easier, but they can be heavy and a problem to handle for those with weak muscles or mobility issues. So, maybe the hedge needs replacing with a fence?
Only you can decide which garden feature has finally beaten you and needs further thought for the future.
Edit your list of jobs
There are some jobs that need regular attention, whatever sort of garden you have, that you could make a lot easier for yourself.
Weeding is the most obvious. Regular hoeing of weed seedlings and young plants is so much quicker and easier than getting on your hands and knees and digging out bigger plants full of shedding seeds that will ensure you’ll be weeding for the next seven years at least! Mulching the soil will help reduce weed seed germination and helps make the garden look more attractive. Using a suitable weedkiller, such as our Double Action Weedkiller, is an easy way to deal with established weeds.
Watering plants with a watering can means you need muscles like a bodybuilder to carry all those cans around. Using a hosepipe or a drip irrigation system (use a water timer or computer to completely automate your watering) is so much quicker and easier. A telescopic watering lance allows you to easily water plants by soaking the soil around them without having to bend down and water hanging baskets without having to take them down or get out the ladder. Replacing water-thirsty plants with drought-resisting ones will dramatically reduce their watering demands once established.
A controlled-release fertiliser, such as our Easy Feed, which feeds plants for up to six months is far easier than using a liquid feed every fortnight. Or use a hose-end feeder which is dramatically better than carrying around the feed in a watering can.
Again, there are easy care solutions to the vast majority of gardening jobs. Just think about which ones you hate doing, which ones take a lot of time and/or effort and look for easy solutions.
Easy care plants
As well as thinking about replacing or reducing the amount of bedding plants you grow, and those that need regular watering and deadheading, think about other features of easy-care plants. Looking for those that need little or no pruning and those that don’t generally succumb to pests and diseases, or varieties of those plants that are more disease resistant, may be better options.
