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Easy Care Gardens for Gardeners of All Ages

© Connie Krochmal

Our priorities and interests change as we age. Yet, most people want to continue gardening as they get older. With the right garden plan and proper gardening tools, we can progress from middle age into our senior years without giving up gardening.

Easy care gardens are just the thing. These require minimal upkeep, and are less likely to become neglected as we grow older.

For an easy care garden, it is essential to choose low maintenance plants. These require no pruning, and deadheading. Once care-free perennials are in place, they seldom need dividing. Our garden plants should also be drought-resistant, so there's little need for watering. These would also be disease and pest resistant so applications of pesticides-organic or chemical-are kept to a minimum. Whatever plants are chosen, they should be winter hardy. And the same is true for the plants' heat-zone listings. These let us know if plants are acclimated to the usual summer temperatures in our area. Your local extension service office should have lists of low-maintenance plants suitable for your area. Generally, these will meet all the above criteria.

So far as lawns are concerned, these tend to be high maintenance. That's one reason I chose not to have a lawn when I moved into my new house in April. Small lawns can be converted into outdoor living spaces, such as patios. Or the grass can be replaced with ground covers that demand little attention. Large lawns can be turned into wildflower meadows.

When it comes to constructing flower beds and borders, raised beds work for people of all ages. These can be waist-high beds where we can stand and work, or ones where we can sit in comfort either on a garden stools, wheelchairs, or on the edge of the bed. Ideally, these beds are narrow enough so we can easily reach the center. In addition to permanent raised beds, kits are available for ones that are on wheels. These could be put into place on a patio for the growing season, and then easily stored during the winter months in a basement. I believe these were designed for use by people in wheelchairs and the like.

Keep the garden small. A good garden design recognizes that we can only devote so much time and effort to gardening. This will keep the garden manageable as we grow older. Otherwise, it may be neglected. If we start with a well planned, small garden, this is less likely to happen.