If you are one of the more than 27 million people afflicted with the pain from arthritis, you know first hand how debilitating it is. Kneeling to plant impatiens has become torture and the simple act of bending over to deadhead a marigold is often times impossible.
So what do you do when you love gardening but arthritis has put you on the sidelines?
Stop bending or kneeling to garden. And container gardening in raised beds or planters is one way to achieve a no bend garden.
Back in 2000 I was in a roll over accident that injured my back and neck. Bending and kneeling to plant, weed or water became excruciating. I started thinking about what I could do to keep gardening but maintain a more pain free existence.
Waist high raised bed gardening was my answer. Simply eliminating the bending and kneeling movement from my garden routine made the act of being in my garden a joy again.
The way to do this is to make sure that you plant in containers that are tall enough or place your container gardens on a surface that is roughly waist high. If you’re used to planting in large containers, ask a member of your family to either place the planter on a platform or, better yet, on wheels so you can easily move the planting around.
Find a place to put your containers so that you can start working on your new waist high garden. Do you have a wall or a table that’s near by? Use those surfaces to help get your plants up to a level that’s comfortable for you.
An alternative to waist high raised bed gardening is to get a stool or chair you can use for planting. It’s never going to be the same as when you could bend and kneel with ease, but some gardening has always been better than none for me.
Using hanging plants is also another possibility. Potting them in a hanging planter and using a hose to water should keep you from bending and kneeling.
You can garden even with arthritis if you take a moment to think about the possibilities.