Arthritis and the Garden.

mouseymousey

Hello, I know its early in the year (but nothing like being prepared).One of the things I would like to reclaim is the garden. Last year I didn't manage it at all - and I used to love my garden. This year I am determind to start gardening again (albeit by sitting on my bum in the garden). So I wondered if you have any tips or any gadgets - homemade or otherwise that help you in your garden? I have already orderd my seed poatotoes!!
Thank you
ps - thanks to all who commented re the tin opener (its doing sterling work)!
M

woodbon

Hi
I've a gadget from the garden centre that is a kneeler with handles one way and if you turn it upside down it becomes a low seat. The only thing is you have to be able to get up from a very low position, but, I can manage it quite well and alternate between kneeling and sitting! Quite useful for me as it allows me to change positions :!: You can also get long handled trowels etc. Sue

mash65

we have recycled a pine bed that was to be taken to the tip.
weve made it into a raised veg.bed i love gardening but hoping this yr to be able to use the raised bed so i dont have to bend over too much.the flowers r all in pots no borders.all the borders r now filled with shrubs for colour.my dad grows potatos in an old dustbin,& carrots,garlic,radishes etc in any old pots i.e mop buckets,washing up bowls,he recycles anything he can use in the garden. good luck with gardening. debsx

redpoppy

hi,i too love working in my garden,the thing that gets my hands the most is the weeding.i do suffer a few days after ive done it.i find if i sit on my bottom on the grass its a better position than kneeling wich i can only manage for about 5 mins.i did get stuck once and had to crawl to the garden seat then heave my self up with the help of it.lol.i do have a big lightweight green bag i use to put weeds ect in,its got two handles on it and its easy to drag about as long as you dont overfill it.for planting out in pots i do mine on the patio table as its just the right height.i do wash it down when ive finished. i think you just find ways of adapting,im certainly not going to give up my gardening.hope we get some good weather this year.

colinone

hi guys oh how i miss looking after my garden i used to get so much joy out of it and i was so proud of it to. The wife has taken over so its just a distant memory now. But hey she does a great job should have given to her years ago LOL
I have a big green house and used to grow all my own flowers now its just the spiders in there.
Colin

redpoppy

hi colin,im sorry to hear you cant manage your garden anymore.but im sure you will get great pleasure sitting in it on a lovely summers day.i find it quite theraputic doing a bit of gardening if i dont over do it.its nice to see all the lovely flowers come out and the bees and the butterflys,oh god roll on summer

jackie1955

I too love my garden, and used to spend hours on my hands and knees weeding! I'd then suffer with knee pain for days after, so I planted some quick spreading ground-cover plants. They are excellent - so now, instead of spending time actually weeding I spend time searching for the odd, elusive weed thats managed to grow somewhere :!:

I also bought plants that, once planted, basically look after themselves

lindalegs

I, too, used to do lots of gardening and would lose myself for hours, almost days at a time :shock: I only used to come in when I was hungry

I'm now a brilliant supervisor and chief advisor instead and throw out my commands from the garden swing whilst sipping coffee and eating grapes

Seriously I can manage the lawns, when hubby allows, (he prefers to do it in 'Wembly' stripes whereas I just cut it!) and I can dead-head the flowers and I also manage the window boxes. I grow outdoor tomatoes in a raised bed and OH grows his in the greenhouse so we have a competition each year to see who can grow the most - what an exciting life we lead :roll:

Luv Legs

jennywren

I cannot do my garden anymore I will just get the man in my life to do it although he does not know that yet

redpoppy

i grew some potatoes last year,i was so pleased with my self.ive grew tomatoes and strawberrys in the past too.theres nothing like picking a nice fresh juicy tomatoe,taste a lot better than shop ones.i think im going to have to get my bf involed in gardening this year,he can do the heavy stuff.lol.

woodbon

I suffer from Angry Husband Syndrome in the garden. HE says I pull up the things hes just planted; I say they looked like weeds to me and the cats must have eaten the plants. This syndrome is incurable :!: Suexxx

redpoppy

hi sue,maybe you better leave the gardening to you hubby,that way you cant get into trouble.lol.

mouseymousey

Thanks for the replies, I can't wait for it to warm up a bit so we can all get started. I do have trouble kneeling (I can't) so I think I'll end up doing most of this sitting down. I thought it doesn't matter if I manage 5 mins or 50 mins? Plan to grown most things in containers, to which end thinking of starting a compost bin. I'm going for things we can eat - I grew some salad type things a few years ago in grow bags - saved us a fortune. Can anyone recommend a book that may help? (I've orderd some at the library).