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Danger Lurks in the Spring Garden - Page 5

© Carol Wallace

Almost certainly when you do that, Nature will send along that one, last killing frost that she had tucked up her sleeve. My over-eager planting of Impatiens last year lasted but a single night.But it was beautiful for that single day. Still, it led to a lot of frustration, a bit of grief and more clean-up as I had to go out and dig up the dead plants and then wait until I could safely replace them.

The second strain is more painful still. And I mean that literally. Remember two things. Our gardening muscles are out of condition after an enforced winter off duty. So no matter how slowly we take it, we are going to end up with aches and pains. The bad news is part two - that we are a year older than we were last year - so as bad as you thought last year felt, it's likely to feel worse this year. The optimist in me always calls these "gardening aches" and rejoices. It means I am finally back in my garden doing what I love most. But the realist in me has to admit - it hurts!

Take my word for it - it does not pay to rush in and try to do too much, too soon - no matter how much needs doing and how much it seems like you will never get it all done. Pace yourself. Warm up to the big tasks gradually. Warm up before you work - a few stretching exercises to get your body warmed up and limber will pay off in the end.

Don't grab just any old tool. Start with the best ones you have - ones that are ergonomically designed. You can get repetitive stress injuries from gardening as easily as you get carpal tunnel syndrome when you spend too much time at the keyboard. So instead of racing in to do everything at once, plan frequent time outs. Use those to look around at your garden to see if there are changes you can implement to make that garden more gardener-friendly. You do not need to get it all done in a single day. Even if you are the compulsively neat type - take it slow. The alternative is that your body will rebel and slow you down ever more.

Especially at first, before your muscles get conditioned to the types of movements gardening demands of us, don't be afraid to use a back, neck and/or wrist support, and to drag along a kneeling pad to reduce stress on knees. Look seriously for garden tools designed for ergonomic use. Even with these you can still overdo it. I took my Fiskars Power Gear Pro loppers - light, easy to use and which cut with little effort on my part - and lopped too vigorously the first day out. I love these loppers, which allowed me to keep on gardening when I thought my fibromyalgia might force me to give up. But even then, using one of the best possible tools for both me and the task at hand - I went too fast too soon. It was three days before I could use my hands and arms at all reliably again.

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