I'm a little bit post-op mobility-challenged, so I thought a garden I could tinker with while sitting on my walker's seat might make sense for spring.
I'm going to line a granny cart with moss, use styrofoam balls for drainage, fill it with potting soil with lots of Perlite for lightness, and poke annuals into it on at least three sides. A bonus will be the wheels the darn things have, thus moving it easily til I find its perfect location. I just wish I could do it now and share a picture!
~Susan
Unusual "container" for accessibility
Example...
That is SUCH a great idea. Sorry I didn't see this post sooner! I love the idea of the annuals spilling out the holes.
Thanks. Gonna be some fun and instant gratification!
How are you doing with your "mobility challenge?" I guess I'm permanently mobility challenged.
My mobility challenge is permanent spinal arthritis and misc. post-op issues, as a consequence of 50 years without thyroid treatment needed since 4th grade. It's a daily surprise what I can and cannot do, and tho I now have energy it is always a temptation to use it mentally rather than physically. Oddly however, I find that the less I push myself the more I can do in a day. Most days I'm done trying by late afternoon. Sleep with pain is always an issue. I take brain-affecting meds as seldom as possible.
So I guess I could say that it's a cycle of trade-offs for me and that I've decided that one way or another, this old lady shall garden. I don't ever aim to do it on my knees, at the rate I'm going, but-- any day this side of the dirt is a good day.
~Susan
This message was edited Oct 16, 2015 7:26 AM
Hi Susan, welcome to the Accessible Gardening Forum. We are a bunch of gardeners--from all over the country and beyond--who identify accessibility challenges as a big part of our lives and we chat to support each other and find other solutions to our life situations. That was off the top of my head; I'm not sure how accurate my description is. Join us here. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1347766/
And thanks for sticking around!
~ Carrie
This message was edited Dec 30, 2014 12:31 PM
Susan, how did your rolling annuals basket turn out?
Scheduled for spring 2016.
Have moss source and first bale; also made a 3.5' conical tower from tomato cages. Have several more cages.
Will cover/line with landscape cloth, line with moss/soil, and plant. (Still planning Styrofoam cavity-filling to keep basket lightweight.)
Cones will be anchored in plastic nursery pots on hand, which will be weighted with topsoil and planted with fast climbers. Prob veg. Have enuf cages for one more 3.5' and several shorter ones in case I want a grouping. All these will be easily moved via hand truck. Haven't envisioned winter use yet (solar xmas lites?), but sure there will be plan in due time.
The scale of the cart, as hoped, is equal to the antique iron woodstove I got set up this visit, so it will be fun when those play off each other! I'll prob stick a stake into the cart for climbers to balance the stove's height, with a bunch of flower/veg pots at staggered heights between them.
This message was edited Oct 16, 2015 7:30 AM
Susan, will this concoction need a lot of water in the summer? (I'm sure you've thought about this!) And you're planning annuals replanted every year, right?
I have a wheelbarrow (which ends up being quite shallow with not much dirt) planted with sedum, Autumn Joy and stuff like that, which we don't touch all year and always looks ok, and containers my DH built for roses which currently have morning glories which have established themselves permanently. (The roses didn't make it. I only mention roses because we call them "rose boxes," knowing perfectly well there have been no roses for years.)
We planted black-eyed Susan vine in the rose boxes this year. When it put out a flower, that flower was gorgeous and long-lasting, but there just were not many of them. Luckily, the weed morning glories were fabulous. I wish I had planted them! One year (4-5 or more years ago) we stuck one black-eyed Susan vine in there with no expectations and it covered the garage until frost. Everybody commented on it and it was very pretty. Since then, we have put BES vine in there with expectations and hopes and have had them dashed repeatedly.
Yes, Carrie, but because-- for the next several years-- we will only be here a few weeks in the summer the hose in the patio will be fine; it pulls out to wherever I need it.
I've also seen some neat plastic hanging-bag type planters; I'm thinking we can stitch up our own in landscape cloth lined with rip-stop nylon, of which we have quite a bit.
Like these:
Hi Susan. I’m glad I finally found this thread. What a great idea! I like your solution for the weight problem. I’ve seen some granny carts that are rated to 150 lbs., but the weight of soil can mount up fast and then there is the weight of the water to consider.
If you order much online, as I do, there is also a way to put the Styrofoam peanuts to work for reducing the weight of containers. The packing peanuts just need to be bagged in plastic bags or those mesh bags such as onions and potatoes come in. Styrofoam peanuts used loose in pots are a messy nightmare. The Styrofoam balls on sale around Christmas sound like a much better idea for an ornamental garden if that part of the construction is visible when everything is together.
Planting lettuce was what leapt to mind when I envisioned the set-up. We can grow lettuce further into spring by planting some in containers and moving those containers into increasingly deeper shade as the weather heats up. (I never knew lettuce was shade tolerant until I moved south.) A set-up like you are planning would be much simpler than moving all those pots. Thanks for sharing your idea. I’m looking forward to hearing how it works out. Can you post photos of the building process and the final results?
(Jim)
This message was edited Oct 24, 2015 8:25 PM
Hi Jim, LETTUCE, yes!!!
I will def post pix as I go, like I have done with the bulb garden I just got into the ground. I LOVE how we can post all phases of a project!
~S~