For care free gardens, start with herbs and other low maintenance plants. Summer droughts are common, so I choose drought-tolerant species. Once my herbs are established, they do very well without supplemental waterings.
Minimize potential plant problems by choosing pest and disease resistant ones, such as mildew-resistant beebalms.
Gardening can aggravate joint problems. For that reason, I choose plants that require very little pruning or deadheading. For example, St. John's wort is a shrub that seldom needs cutting back.
When it comes time to establish new garden beds, I do it the easy way with sheet composting instead of double digging and tilling. This easy method is also called lasagna gardening. It only requires three steps.
First, mow the area. Then, cover it with a thick layer of newspaper or a single layer of corrugated cardboard. This is an excellent way to put those old pizza boxes to good use. Finally, a layer of organic mulch is spread over the paper or cardboard. After some months, the grass and weeds underneath will die, and the new bed will be ready for planting.
Mulching serves several purposes. It minimizes weed problems and conserves moisture. This won't get rid of all weeds, but it still helps a lot. The weed seeds that do germinate are easy to pull by hand before they become firmly established.
Some type of edging is needed to separate flowerbeds and mixed borders from whatever lawn is present. If you prefer a clean dug edge, the easiest way to accomplish this is with the Edge Hound Coiled Edging Installer or the Steppin' Edger Edging Tool. For many of my beds, I use stones I've collected from the property. The glaciers left no shortage of rocks in this area.
Raised beds are easy to maintain. After they're constructed, the rest is easy. They are easy to weed and plant. Once the spring thaws arrive in this area, the yard becomes muddy. I can plant vegetables and herbs in these beds, while the rest of the yard is still wet.
For those in wheelchairs, raised beds are a passport to the world of gardening. Narrow beds work best, so the gardener can reach into the middle without straining to do so.
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