As we grow older, we need to find gentler ways of keeping ourselves fit, healthy and connected to the world around us. Garden exercise is one benefit worth exploring, but so are the impacts on well-being and a sense of purpose. Getting out into the garden is great, but it is important to consider how seniors’ garden safety can be ensured while all these benefits are reaped. It is one thing to find joy in nurturing a bed and a border and another to find yourself overcome because of the struggle to dig and move heavy items.
Our bodies and minds as we age
When enjoying gardening, it is important to remember certain things about our bodies as we age. Our skin thins, making us more susceptible to bumps, bruises and sunburn. We must be sure we cover up, wear a hat, and put on lotion, as well as keep more vigorous activities for other people. As our vision declines and we lose some of the peripheries, it is more likely that we could bump ourselves.
With a decrease in memory and impacts on mental capacity from conditions such as dementia, it is important to keep a note of the activities needing completion in the garden and when.
Finally, our body’s ability to maintain a healthy body temperature reduces, and our bones are more fragile. Therefore, we need to use gardening aids for the elderly to support us as we garden. And remember to take regular breaks and drink lots of ice-cold lemonade!
Elderly gardening activities
Let’s consider the jobs we should be attempting in our garden and which we should ask family, friends, or gardeners to help to achieve. As people in our older years, we can enjoy planting herbs in pots or raised beds. This can easily be done from a wooden garden bench or an especially designed gardening chair for the elderly.
Other activities that can be done seated include repotting plants and tidying pots. Again, using raised beds, you might want to plant some vegetables and flowers, though remember that turning the soil might require some support.
There are other accessories you can use to support your gardening. For instance, growing vertically means you do not have to bend much, so trellises and walls are good tools. Equally, there are retractable hanging baskets and containers on castors that can help do some heavy lifting. On a simple level, there are gardening tools for elderly people, which are lightweight and with bulkier handles for easy manipulation.
But what about the benefits
So, there is no doubt that there are health and safety issues we need to consider when elderly gardening. Yet, we shouldn’t forget that this is focused more on the benefits. Once all safety considerations are met, it is time to get out and enjoy yourself. Gardening is enjoyable. It is a satisfying way to spend time, and the outcomes of your actions are tangible. And as you move about your garden, you get the exercise that maintains muscle mass and protects the bones that can impact your mobility.
Working in the garden also keeps your mind active, helping to maintain fine motor skills and reduce the stresses and strains we all build up in life. The stimulation of managing a garden keeps our minds engaged, and the act of reminding and remembering things to do is great mental exercise.
Probably most important is the social aspect of gardening. Doing the work in the garden can help maintain connections with neighbours and others and maintain all-important social interaction.
Other benefits are more surprising. The sensory stimulation of the flowers is highly beneficial for those with conditions such as dementia. Taking the flowers from the garden and placing them in vases around the home can offer some sensory respite. You can increase the benefits here by decorating the garden with other sensory accessories, such as wind chimes, to ease the sense of mental confusion.
Summary
There is no doubt that gardening is a powerful activity for the elderly. It helps with physical and mental well-being and is an activity that is both enjoyable, stimulating, and, most importantly, social. We have made much of the safety requirements while gardening, and we need to be wary of lifting too much and straining ourselves. Therefore, make sure you have the right equipment and a good place to sit down and take the weight off, such as a wooden garden bench.
