Gardening with Arthritis
You love to garden but hate the pain. If you are suffering from arthritis you may be able to change the way you garden in order to alleviate this pain. Joint pain is terrible, but the rewards of gardening can help you feel better. The wonderful thing about gardening is that you can change how you work and where you work and still get the same results. Here I am going to tell you how to adjust your gardening habits so you can still enjoy (or help someone else still enjoy) the art of gardening!

Posted Friday, April 21, 2006

What are the biggest challenges in gardening when dealing with arthritis? The bending over, lifting heavy objects and continuous work with your hands are a few.

Some of the changes that you can make in gardening are:

Select plants that have a much longer life span. If you are very limited in how much gardening you can do, you can still have a wonderful, beautiful garden by growing perennials that are hardy for your grow zone. Choose plants with a long life and that will require very little special care in the long run.

Have your gardening areas revamped. For greenhouses, what I mean by this is make sure you have a space that is about three feet wide so you can wheel through, use a cane to get through or so that you can walk as you need with out having to worry about what is in the way.

Working in the greenhouse or out in the garden, be sure to use a sprinkler system that will water your entire garden. You don’t have to carry water, and you don’t have to stand in any one area for a long period of time. Your plants will still be watered as needed and you reap the best results.

Put a bench in the garden or handrails in long path areas so you can stop and take a break while working in the garden. A bench in the garden can also make your garden a more welcoming area!

A great addition found in the gardening markets is the raised garden bed. The raised garden bed raises the soil closer. You don’t have to bend over as far and you can easily reach over and pick vegetables! Raised garden beds fit just about anywhere in the garden that you might like to place it.