Reap health benefits from gardening

 

Aging can make some gardening activities more difficult but growing older certainly doesn’t mean giving up gardening! Many simple ideas and inexpensive tools are available to help us continue our gardening hobby. Using caution and common sense when gardening is good advice for gardeners of any age.

Gardening gives us the opportunity to exercise both the mind and body, which can reduce mental decline, boost fitness levels and keep bones healthy. We can reap almost the same health benefits from gardening as you would from a workout at a gym. Meeting with other gardeners at clubs, workshops, master gardener training sessions offer opportunity for stimulating conversation and increases our knowledge base. Studies show that gardening can reduce stress, speed up recovery from surgery and lowers pain levels.

Your doctor can recommend some warm up exercises, such as rising up and down on your toes followed by some gentle stretches or squats and of course an annual physical before you begin. Some medications may make your skin more sensitive to sunlight; stay out of midday heat and apply sunscreen to exposed skin. Garden early in the morning or in the evening, wearing light colored clothing with long sleeves and pants and protecting your hands with protective gloves. Use an insect repellent if mosquitoes are biting and always hydrate with water or juices.

Wagons, large-grip tools and kneeling benches help make gardening easier. For example, a long- handled bulb planter is handy for planting small vegetable and flower plants because it allows the gardener to operate it from a standing position. There’s even a tool that pops up weeds when you insert it with your foot. Check out one of our local nurseries for many possibilities. When shopping, consider looking for tools that allow the use of two hands to help spread the work over more muscles and joints.

To reduce kneeling and bending, consider adding raised beds. They can be built at nay desirable height, plus the edges can be designed wide enough to sit or kneel on comfortable. Container gardens offer accessibility and are easy to manage in a variety of locations, putting them on wheeled platforms simplifies moving them later. Paint the handles of your favorite gardening tools a bright easy to see color, wrapping tape around small handles so they are easier to grip.

Enlist the help of friends, children and grandchildren to share your gardening tasks. They might enjoy the opportunity to learn and experience your passion for the art. Many people who find their lives too full to plant and maintain a garden for themselves find “a gardening date” to be enjoyable and therapeutic. People of all ages like to garden and learn new skills. Every yard or home has a place for a therapeutic, meditation garden. It can be as simple as displaying container gardens around a favorite bench in a secluded area, a gathering of potted plants around your easy chair in the living room or a complex gardening adventure of designing a landscaped gazebo complete with a water feature! Whatever your desire, take time to enjoy the green space in your neighborhood.

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By A. Moiz