I don't post here often, since I don't consider myself disabled, although watching me try to get up after weeding would suggest otherwise! I just want to get some suggestions about creating garden situations for disabled gardeners.
I have a small greenhouse business in Seward, Alaska, and from time to time people come in looking for plants for folks who have certain gardening limitations. Most seem to think that planting things you can see from inside the window would suffice, but as a gardener, I can't imagine not wanting to get my hands in the soil.
So, I've begun thinking about raised beds and even tables that allow the gardener to slide a wheelchair underneath to get closer..and of course, container gardening, etc. Any thoughts on how I could make gardening more available to those that love it?
Setting Up the Special Garden
The most likely solution is probably going to be indoors. Shelves and lights can provide starting conditions for many things, and then it depends on how limited the gardener is. Raised beds are certainly a help when you have bad knees and hips. Planters hanging from a fence or wall can provide space for many of the plants which require lots of sunlight, and they look nice in any garden when the plants cascade down or climb to the top of the fence. Hooks for the planters can be found for almost any situation. Small trees and bushes can be grown in large pots on a porch, deck or patio. This also works for veggies, including cukes, squash, peppers and tomatoes, using supporting frameworks inserted into or next to the pots. If the gardener can get to a patio or similar area, she can grow a large number of plants in this manner, with just minimal help setting up things.
All good ideas, Aimie. We already do a lot of container gardening up here because the soil is so cool. A patio with herb and lettuce baskets would be nice, wouldn't it. Perhaps thinking small is the best. Indoor gardening won't offer fresh air, but sometimes I forget that physical limitations can also include pain or exhaustion. I suppose a better approach would be to try something out and see what the responses are.
At some of the nursing homes in Boise they have planters that you can get a wheelchair up to and the people each have their own to plant as they wish. The residents that loved gardening can't wait to get up and dressed and outside to work in their "gardens" Measure some wheelchairs to get the proper heights and have the shop class at the school make some raised beds for you to use or give to the seniors and disabled. That way everybody involved has helped out. Put some good soil or potting mix into the raised beds and let them plant away.
I was thinking the same thing, Ponditis, but considered that that they should be tables that the wheelchair would slide under, since twisting from the waist to work in a bed would sem pretty uncomfortable. I guess I need to check at the hospital to see what the standard height is for wheelchairs.
I don't know how many of you watch BBCAmerica and the Ground Force, but they did a garden for a woman with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. It included a very level and smooth terrace, raised beds and a planting table all to the proper height for her wheel chair. They also included hanging baskets on pulleys so that they could be raised high enough for her to be in her pergola without hitting her head, and so that she could let them down to water and do any work they needed. They leveled her lawn and put retractable wheel chair runs in it so that she could be out there with her dog. As a person with not so severe RA, I was fascinated by the thought and care that went into the planning of that garden. I am fighting this whole disabled bit tooth and nail, but this winter has taught me that there are new challenges ahead.
Those are great ideas, Kathleen. Good point about the pulleys. I really like the concept of an accessible potting table, too.
Good to see someone else fighting the label. I know I am challenged in ways I wasn't in my salad days, but choose not to think I am actually disabled. Shall we call it "mature gardener syndrome"? It has changed the way I garden, and I confess to not being able to go at it so spontaneously and recklessly as in other times. Okay, I don't bend and stoop and lift with such ease. I have learned to be patient, not to try to till the entire 20+ acres in a day. And I do as others here have said, place seating everywhere. But if I give in and it gets too easy because I can sit in a wheelchair and still get my hands in the soil, I just know I shall freeze permanently. So I suggest that a small bit of strain be provided, just enough to keep the gardeners stretching, with good incentive.
That's a good point, Aimee. We all need to be challenged a bit, I think. I've seen too many people just decide they are old or handicapped or incapable, and after a while, they really are. I guess the term 'handicapped' or 'disabled' isn't the best way to express it, but 'challenged' has become a politically correct term for anyone who falls outside the social norm due to illness, age or a chance of birth.
In the case of older gardeners like us, I suppose we are all 'challenged' when it comes to keeping up with young green things that grow faster than we can tend them. But, when you think about it, the young folks that have all the energy and strength they need to garden are often handicapped by a lack of knowledge when it comes to gardening.
I suppose a distinction could be made between giving someone the pleasure of being around growing things or helping a gardener continue to tend their plants. They are quite different issues that require different answers.
Oh, my, as I scanned your post, Weez, I thought you were referring to those younger gardeners as young green things. Then I slowed down and read it and you just made my day. Yes, I totally agree with your entire viewpoint. Our grandparents might have been slower and feebler, but they knew some stuff about gardening, which is why they got old enough to be slower and feebler. I always thought they planted those flowers among the food crops for strictly ornamental purposes, but then I began to read Rodale's and realized they knew about companion planting and natural pest control. I have certainly been handicapped in many ways for a long time, considering the vast sum of my unknowing.
LOL, Aimee! Yes, I was referring to the young green plants, not the young, inexperienced gardeners! We live in a society that doesn't properly value the experience of others, particularly the aged and/or disabled. We keep offering assistance, but seldom stop and learn from them.
We have a local gardener that is in her 80's and I always listen to what she has to say about the things she grows. She doesn't know the botanical names... they're Leaping Leenas or Blooming Bettys, etc., but she knows exactly what to do to make them grow.
She didn't do a scientific study, she just learned over the years from her own experiences and from the experiences of others. She still gardens, though her knees give her trouble, and she loves to sit on the steps and visit with fellow gardeners.
the raised beds that I saw in Boise were made from concrete block and some had a bump out of redwood that the wheelchair fit under. They would plant the larger plants in the center and things like strawberries in the bumpout area. Drip irrigation was supplied. The ones without the bumpout of wood were used by the people who need to stretch out to reach things and the other were for the people who couldn't do this. It worked fine for their purposes.
Very good points, Ponditis.
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Another thing is that the raised beds shouldn't be any wider than it is somewhat comfortable reaching halfway across. That way they do get a work-out but not enough to make it truly difficult.
I have just gotten the go-ahead to try to implement a few of these at the local nursing home as one of my Master Gardener public service projects! Now I need to get the permission of the director of the nursing home and if it then is flying then I will go around and ask local businesses to donate their materials and time for making the boxes. I sure hope it works out for all of us. Patients will be so very happy if we can get this through.
That's just wonderful, Ponditis! Keep us posted. There is nothing quite as therapeutic as growing things. I have to say, the width of a raised bed is an issue whether you are disabled or not! I keep telling my hubby to make them no more than 4 feet across, and a lip wide enough to park my butt upon would be very nice!
I had my hubby make me a raised bed of those concrete cinder blocks lined with a good quality landscape fabric so soil won't escape. It is three blocks high which makes it about 24 inches or so and that way it is easy for me to sit on the edge and weed the plants in there. I will use it this year for the first time and am excited to plant lettuce, beets, chard, radishes, and other vegis in it. It is four feet by 20 feet so when it needs something in it it will be easy to figure out what is needed in 100 sq. feet. Fertilizers usually have listed the ratio of what is needed in 100 sq. feet.
I hope to keep you posted about the project if it gets going.
Thanks, Ponditis. Clever about the dimensions. I'm really lousy at callibrating fertilizer! Please, keep us posted!
I was fiddling around in Publisher after reading this thread. What about something like this, if aesthetics are of mind? The solid sides could be brick, plywood, block...just about anything. It's not to scale - it'd be way too shallow, I know!
You are so clever, GW! I'm printing this out to have my DH take a look at it. Thanks!
You're welcome, Weez. It was easier to draw than to explain. I thought having access from two sides while keeping it from looking like just a big table with soil in it would be nice. I have no idea about the measurements necessary for wheelchair access, but that would be easy enough to incorporate in such a design.
I saw a thing on HGTV or FoodTV about chef in a major city who has a roof-top herb garden. All of his gardens were in raised table beds with maybe 6-12" of soil in them. They weren't pretty, but they worked, and something like that would be easy to roll a chair beneath. But I'd vote for aesthetics, too. ;)
This gal has a picture of a wheelchair-accessible table-bed on her site: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/1391/disabled.html
Thanks for the link, GW. Good information from a gardener who has used her ingenuity to continue to do what she loves. I really admire what she has done.
The pics of the wheelchair accessible table give some idea of how tall the table would have to be in order to slide the chair under it. The beds only look abt. 6" deep, but they still seem like a hard reach. I wonder if it would be any easier if the plants were in pots and a there was a ledge along the perimeter of the table so that pots could be moved closer or set on the ledge for pruning, etc.
That's a good idea, too. I know sometimes when my back's hurting I have to sit in a chair while I do dishes, and it's hard to keep my arms up high to reach the sink; I'd imagine the strain on the shoulder and back would be similar for those having to keep their arms elevated for working in the box.
What would be cool is if the planter box would actually be two long boxes parallel to one another, with some sort of hinge which would allow them to be swung out easily and lowered for working. Does that make sense?
Wow! That's a great idea, Gardenwife! The gal on the website had a scooter that allowed here to elevate herself to do the railing plants, but that's not an option for everybody. Being able to lift and lower the boxes would be great.
Here's another idea... I've seen plastic eave gutters used as planter troughs along patio railings and fence rows. They work fine for annual flowers and herbs, and the installation wouldn't be costly.
Oh, made out of gutters? Cool idea!
I've seen photos that were taken by our local coop agent. He plantd lettuce in gutters along his fence. Looked pretty good, except it was just the right height for a moose buffet!
Weez-there are some books out on hortitherapy, with plans for raised beds, smooth paths for wheelchairs, scented gardens for people who are visually impaired etc. Maybe your library system has access to them. The ideas put on here are excellent, as everyone has different needs (ie:) mine would have to be downsized-due to short stature
That's a word I never thought of searching for: hortitherapy. Can you guess what came up as the second hit? A DG page! http://davesgarden.com/members/hortitherapy/
:) Kimberley
Marcia, me, too! Being under 5' means a lot when one is discussing the width of beds and being able to reach across, or erecting a trellis, tying a vine to a structure, even carrying a 5 gallon bucket. I love my short stature, but it definitely has its drawbacks.
Hi, everybody. I've been so busy planting and transplanting that I haven't had time to check the threads as often as I should. Yes, I can see how height and stature would certainly play a part in the construction of raised beds. I'm about 5'3", and my husband is 6' tall, so I have to do lots of stretching to reach some things he puts away.
I'm not very familiar with wheel chairs or walkers, but I know that crutches can be adjusted... so I imagine the same would be true with walkers... now wheelchairs are probably more likely to be a predetermined height, aren't they? I ask that because of the issue of being able to face inward to a table or raised bed. There are so many issues to consider. I'll check on the web again soon.
Hello! I'm not 'officially' disabled....just Older Than Dirt!!! Gardening (and most other) activities take longer than they used to. A while back, I had gathered a few links which might be of use.
This first link has standard dimensions for raised beds or garden tables for wheelchair access (under "Planning the Garden"):
http://www.hort.vt.edu/human/pub426020d.html (Gardening in raised beds)
This link shows a raised gardening table. You can purchase the plans, but I'm sure someone could build on just by looking at the picture.
http://www.gardensquare.com/ (Table Gardening)
I also have a couple of other links on my Garden Fun page, but some are outdated because I haven't worked on this page in quite a while.
http://members.aol.com/Jyex2/garden_fun.htm (Garden Fun)
Hope this helps!
LSP: Thanks so much for the sites... I took a quick look, but am in the midst of transplanting, so I'll have to come back to this. I like the phrase 'Enabled Gardening'... much more positive!