Accessible Gardening© Diana Pederson
Jan 29, 1999
Readers, I have tried to get away from using book reviews as my primary columns and am now dating them in between regular columns (biweekly). However, I recently read a book which I believe should be owned by every family with a disabled or elderly gardener. Please consider this review carefully and I urge you to get this book!
Janeen R. Adil. Accessible Gardening for People with Physical Disabilities: A Guide to Methods, Tools, and Plants. Woodbine House. 1994. Janeen R. Adil is the mother of a child with spina bifida in addition to being an avid gardener. Her concern for all children, particularly those with disabilities shines through in her book. This is the best book from a group of 4 books that I've read on gardening with disabilities within the last 18 months. I make this statement for several reasons. Adil's writing style easy to very easy to understand. This is the only book I've seen which used photographs of disabled gardeners using tools or simply performing garden-related tasks. Most books I've read used line drawings of "normal people" or the temporarily able-bodied as the disabled like to call them. Seeing a woman in a wheelchair using a garden tool makes the writing itself much more believable. As a disabled person, I can look at the picture, read the words, and think, "If they can do it, so can I.". If special tools or equipment are manufactured, the name of the company is given and the appendix contains the address so the reader can get the catalog. (The reader might want to search the internet first however to save time.) Photographs of many of the tools or equipment are provided. Suggested modifications for manufactured items are provided if needed. The book is organized in a logical manner--something that has been missed in others.
Chapter Contents Chapter 1: Ground-Level Gardens, Raised Beds, and Planter Boxes.
This chapter presents a special discussion on growing potatoes and suggests solutions for those who can't garden in-ground. Chapter 2: Gardening in a Variety of Containers
The discussion would prove valuable to any beginning gardener, not just the disabled. It includes an excellent discussion of the different materials which can be used in containers in addition to a listing of food crops suitable for container gardening. Chapter 3: Vertical Gardening
Read this chapter if you are out of space in your garden. You'll find several good ideas for conserving space while making the producing and harvesting of crops more accessible at the same time.
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The copyright of the article Accessible Gardening in Gardening Techniques is owned by Diana Pederson. Permission to republish Accessible Gardening in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Diana, Thanks for the excellent book review. I often wonder about the value of these books for the disabled. I will certainly be looking out for this one. I have had to re-think and re-event my ...
-- posted by ______MarcellaGM
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Good going, Diana! For one thing, I didn't even know there was a Michigan Horticulture Therapy Association - but since there is, I think you should be in it. The brain-trauma treatment is som ...
-- posted by Dan_Ellsworth
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Hi Dan:While reading about horticulture therapy, I've learned that this is the best therapy for helping traumatic brain injured patients regain some of their physical/mental abilities. Have jus ...
-- posted by Diana_Pederson
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Diana, I can believe the reviewed author is both readable and organized; so are you, in reviewing the book.While I'm here, I'll toss in a wild card: There must be a wide variety of disabilities a ...
-- posted by Dan_Ellsworth
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