Re: OT: Disabled Gardeners

For several years I took a medication that made me sensitive to the sun in the extreme. I found that if I attacked the weeds that were the most problematical first, such as things that set seed early or are hard to pull later, that by June I had a fairly weed free garden with shorter stays in the garden. Using a preemergant on all perenial gardens without bulbs made this chore even faster. I also devided up watering into areas that could be either watered with a soaker hose or within one hour. This way I did not have to stand outside just to water. This way I could go outside early and late in the day and just enjoy the flowers. 
    
Also a property not far from my own belonged to a man in a wheelchair. All his flowers were in raised beds at wheelchair height so he could take care of them himself. He used a lot of draping cultivars to soften the edges of the beds and they were truely beautiful. I do not know his name as I saw the property when it came up for auction and this is the story I was told. He had made extensive use of soaker hoses with cutoffs attached so the hoses were not moved. Many were buried and completely out of site.

Hope this helps
Wendy

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: William C. Smoot 
  To: iris-talk@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 10:59 AM
  Subject: [iris-talk] OT: Disabled Gardeners


         A handicap, disability, or the effects of increased age shouldn't
  keep us from gardening.  Where there's a will - there's a way, and I know
  that some of you in this group have found little "tricks" that you've learn
  through experience that allow you to keep gardening.  I'm hoping you'll
  share them with the group.  Doing so should make gardening easier for all
  concerned.  If you are disabled, or handicapped, or have reached that senior
  status that has limited your gardening and know of some product or way that
  would make it easier for all of us to garden, please share it with me.  I'd
  like to collect this data and write an article on it.
      I'll start first!

      Three years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  This ultimately
  resulted in a radical mastectomy and chemo/radiation therapy.  Some of the
  consequences of this is that my dominant gardening hand was affected.  The
  removal of lymph nodes compromised the immune response to my hand and I now
  get a buildup of lymph fluid if I use overuse my hand - especially with
  digging. I also  have the side effects of tirdness from the chemo/radiation
  and from my current medication.  I have also lost the sweat glands under my
  armpit and have to be very careful of heat problems.

      One of the hardest things for me to do was to alter and adapt my
  gardening habits.  In the past I would tackle a project with full force, but
  now I have to divide projects up into sections, allow opportunity for rest,
  then do another section. Perviously, I would "eat the elephant" in one large
  bite, but now I take smaller and more frequent bites!  I have also found
  that the new ergonomically engineered tools lessen the fluid buildup in my
  hand.  I also tend to garden in the cooler periods of the day, but will
  frequently overextend myself.  While I should garden with gloves to lessen
  the chance of infection, I find this personally impossible to do and after
  gardening I diligently make sure that I wash my arm and hands with
  antibacterial soap and immediately treat any cuts or abrasions.

      I hope that this will be an interesting thread and look forward to your
  input.  Hopefully, it will benefit us all!


  Warm regards,

  BillSmoot


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