Differently-abled

At the end of another day of gardening, when my back aches from digging and my arms feel as if they are about to fall off, I think of my gardening friends who are aging or who are physically challenged in so many other different ways. What I find to be simply tiring may be impossible for them, yet the need to make things grow is no less urgent. How then, I think to myself, can they or the people around them make it possible for them to fulfill this need?

Take a step back and, instead of focusing on what the individual can’t do, (“I can’t see those tiny seeds any more,” “I just can’t get up and down to pull weeds”), figure out what is possible and work around it. It may involve brainstorming the design of adaptive tools to make tasks easier, or redesigning the garden to make it more accessible to their needs. Maybe a person with one set of skills can team up with someone with a different skill-set. For example, a person who, through age or accident, is now confined to a wheelchair after a lifetime of gardening may find good company with a neighborhood child who doesn’t know a lot about gardening, but can follow directions and move easily around the garden, pulling weeds, picking produce or fetching tools.

Tools can be adapted or created to make some jobs easier. Foam pipe insulation cut to size and glued to the handles of tools can make them more comfortable for a person with a weak or a painful grip. If fingers don’t bend far enough to grasp the handle, try using a couple of layers of foam to make the handle thicker.

A planting tool can be created with a length of PVC pipe. Once the furrow has been dug with a long-handled tool, one end of the PVC pipe can be placed at each spot where a seed needs to go, and the seed dropped into the top of the pipe. The seed will land exactly where it is supposed to without the need for bending and stooping. If the gardener’s fingers are not dexterous enough to get the seed into the end of the pipe, a funnel can be glued to the end, making it easier.

The garden itself can be adapted to the changing needs of the gardener as well. Half-barrels are easier to reach than the ground, but still have enough soil volume to be able to grow just about anything. They can be placed on a paved area, set a comfortable distance apart so that a wheelchair can maneuver between them. Gardeners with less mobility may be content with dish gardens—smaller containers with smaller plants. Some may enjoy simply watering the garden with a hose that has been set up for them.

Just because a gardener is not fully able (who of us is?), is no reason for them not to experience the satisfaction of contributing real value to making things grow. All it takes is a little brainstorming on their part, or on the part of the people surrounding them, to figure out the things they need to change or create in order to contribute their skills to the process. Keep on growing!

- Rosemary Mandeville