Gardening is one of those hobbies that you can do throughout
your lifetime- but much like a favorite sport, we find ourselves having to make simple changes in gardening as we age to stay safe.
Gardening keeps you healthy in the mind and body, and can help
prolong vitality better than most other activities. It’s been shown that
gardening is excellent, gentle exercise that offers cardiovascular
strengthening and of course, muscular strengthening. The gentle, low impact
physical stress that gardening offers is wonderful, especially for aging
bodies. So, even though bodies change, gardening is one hobby that as you get
older happens to be far more beneficial than it is harmful.
But that doesn’t mean our bodies can go like they used to.
Here are some ways you can make gardening easier on your body as you age, which
can help you avoid injury most importantly, but will also help you enjoy more-
after all, you’ve earned it!
Extreme temperatures are dangerous for everyone, but as we
age our bodies are less able to recover from heat stroke and dehydration as
well as our bodies could when we were younger. You may notice an emphasis on
shade gardens and moon gardens with the older gardening crowd, and this is
because of a natural gravitation away from hard work in the heat. Creating
bigger gardens that receive shade and gardens that take advantage of the
evenings and nights are a fun challenge for those with experienced green thumbs
too. We
have a very wide selection of plants that are shade lovers, with more
information on creating shade gardens here.
Consider creating more shade in
your garden by planting more trees
too. Moon gardens are simply gardens with plants that bloom at night that carry
heavy scent, like jasmines and Brugmansia. White flowers gleam in the moonlight
too. Moon gardens are also excellent for lesser known pollinators, like moths
and bats. Many beautiful moon gardens around the world also use water features
as part of their allure. Installing landscape lighting makes gardens and water
features magical at night.
Accessibility is important as we age too. At some point,
getting around an expansive garden and having the energy to do it all becomes
impossible. Focusing on smaller garden beds, especially raised ones on patios,
make gardening for those with mobility concerns a possibility. This is a
necessity for those who live in assisted living facilities of course, but this
is also a consideration if you’re aging at home.
Patio and container gardening
doesn’t have to be limited to annuals and vegetables either. You can create a
container or patio garden out of more permanent shrubs and trees easily. Here
are some simple container garden ideas that aren’t ordinary container
solutions. Using perennials, small trees, and even installing a small water
feature using containers is a great start.
And finally, taking a cue from the old art form of Tai Chi (my mom still does this...in her mid 80's)-
everything done at a slow, steady pace makes for great results that come in an
enjoyable, healthy way. Take your time doing things in the shade. Make lots of
wonderful drinks to enjoy as you go along. Pet the cat, watch the butterflies.
This is what gardening has always been about!
