What plants are the easiest for elderly gardeners?
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There are many joys that gardening can bring us, and after over a year being stuck in lockdown it’s no wonder this outdoor pastime is becoming more and more popular.
Recent research has found that almost 3 million more of us have taken up gardening this year as a result of lockdown. A new younger demographic of gardening has also been identified with nearly half (49%) of the new green-fingered fans are under the age of 45.
While gardening can be fun for all ages, it can be a great opportunity for the elderly to get outside and keep active. In this article, we uncover some of the ways to make gardening more manageable.
How can gardening be made less rigorous?
There are a number of ways in which you can make gardening a little less rigorous and more manageable as you get older.
Maintaining clear, flat paths which are free from any obstructions is important to protect against potential tripping hazards. Ensure items such as your garden hose pipe is properly stored away to avoid any unwanted accidents.
Using raised flowerbeds can also be a great solution so that you can tend to your flowers without having to bend down all the time, which can put pressure on your back over time. There is an array of gardening accessories you can invest in to make helpful adaptations.
If you enjoy a lawn at the centre of your garden, then using a good grass feed can help keep it looking green and healthy.
What plants require the least maintenance?
Selecting plants and flowers which are low maintenance can also be a great way to reduce the amount of labour needed to care for your garden.
One excellent indoor plant that is easy to look after is a Snake Plant (also known as Mother In Law’s Tongue, due to its spiky appearance!). The snake plant only needs watering every fortnight, though this can change to once a month in the winter months if the soil is still moist after 2 weeks. It also benefits from being a high oxygenating plant and cleanses the air around your home.
A great outdoor plant that makes a great addition to your garden is the Hardy Geranium. This colourful flowering plant is virtually indestructible, and has the potential to bloom for months at a time. No regular deadheading is needed. making this an easy plant to maintain over time.
If you have spaces you’d like to fill with a splash of colour, wildflowers are another easy-care choice that will do the job perfectly. In line with their name, wildflowers are meant to look unkept and haphazard, meaning they don’t have to be perfectly pruned like some other flowering plants.
Photo by Karen Cann on Unsplash
