If you love gardening but have found it hard to continue with this hobby as you’ve started to age, you’ll be happy to know that there are all kinds of ways you can adjust your garden and your gardening habits to better accommodate what you’re capable of doing physically. To help you see how this can be done, here are three great ways to keep gardening as you grow older.
Raise Your Beds
One of the hardest things about gardening for older people is having to get down on the ground and bend over whatever part of the earth needs attention. To avoid having to do this, you can always raise your garden beds up higher so that they are no longer ground level. This requires building or buying raised garden beds that you can then plant in. Because the beds are raised off the ground to about hip or chest level, it now becomes much easier to reach the plants. And being that high off the ground, your plants will still have more than enough room to flourish.
If you’re not sure how you’ll implement raised garden beds on your property, consider consulting with a horticulturist, landscape architect, or even someone who gardens at an assisted living facility, as all of these people should be able to point you in the right direction for where to start with your raised beds.
Learn How To Protect Yourself
While you might not think of gardening as a particularly physical exercise, gardening can cause you to work up a sweat and can put a decent amount of stress on your body if you’re not careful. Knowing this, it’s good to learn how to protect your body while you’re gardening in your old age. Read more about Best Senior Living Communities of 2021.
First, you’ll want to make sure that you’re protected from the elements, meaning that you’re wearing sunscreen and a hat along with wearing gloves to protect your hands from whatever you’re working with. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that you’re not trying to lift or move anything that’s too heavy for you, as this could cause you to get injured.
Invest In New Gardening Tools
The gardening tools that you once used might not be as easy for you to wield now that you’ve gotten older. But don’t worry, there are gardening tools made just for those who might have a weaker grip or are dealing with things like arthritis.
With most of these tools, you’ll notice that the handle has a softer grip and is designed so that it’s easier to hold and use. So if you’re not as nimble as you once were, this is no reason to let it hold you back from continuing to the garden. If you’re not ready to give up gardening just yet, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn how you can safely and comfortably keep gardening as you age.
