So you’re not Charlie Dimmock or Alan Titchmarsh and you can’t get Tommy Walsh to do your decking, but there is no reason why advancing years or infirmity should stop you being your own force to be reckoned with in the garden.

The trouble with our beloved English gardens is that we can only get into them for half of the year and during the other six months the muscles we use tend to seize up, and more quickly as we get older!

But there are ways to make life easy on yourself and your back so that you can spend more time admiring your garden than knocking it into shape. The golden rule is never to do too much, just enough to enjoy yourself and then sit back and admire what you have achieved, and you’ll be surprised how much you can.

Make life easy for yourself by planning what you are going to do before you start. Prepare buckets, tools and equipment to avoid too many trips backwards and forwards, and use a barrow to get tools around the garden.

Before you go into the garden, warm up. Simple stretching and bending exercises will help prevent your muscles from seizing up. Take regular breaks and have a warm or cold drink depending on the temperature, but don’t overdo the gin and tonic or you could have an accident in the hollyhocks!

If you have paving in your garden make sure it is of the non-slip and no glare variety and don’t go in for heavy gradients. Snow and ice could make them treacherous in winter. However, if you need a ramp, make it a gentle slope and keep access to your house door, greenhouse and tool shed as easy as possible.

Cut back plants that are overgrowing onto paths to avoid tripping on them and if you need to walk on borders use a piece of old carpet underfoot. In fact leave the carpet there for a growing season and the area should be clear of weeds. This method is also particularly useful for larger areas where you want to avoid mass digging to eradicate weeds.

Pick plants which are easy to grow and cultivate and remember that containers can be your best friend. They are easy to keep weed free, protect the flowers and vegetables from some pests and by staging your planting you can have successive crops over a longer period.

If you grow vegetables make small beds with access from all sides, or grow in containers. A large plastic dustbin filled with compost and a few seed potatoes will give an excellent yield and protect your crop from the underground slugs and snails in wet periods. Avoid using the more expensive F1 hybrid seed too, they will crop all at once.

In fact it’s a good idea to talk to your neighbours before buying seed. A packet always contains far more than you need, so pick the varieties you can share and perhaps split the cost too.

If you are less mobile than you were you might consider using paving in larger areas of your garden, but if you love your lawn keep it close cut and level with surrounding blocks or flags so the mower can cut to the edges. And don’t be afraid of clover, daisies or other supposed weeds, they keep a lawn greener during dry spells. You can also cut a path through the lawn for access leaving some grass to grow longer. Sow wild flower seed in with the grass and you will soon have your own miniature flower meadow.

A greenhouse need not be a burden and indeed a heated greenhouse is a blessing in early Spring and at the end of the season. Have benches at comfortable heights, use automatic vents for air circulation and have a source of water as near to the greenhouse as possible to avoid carrying cans.. The greenhouse extends your growing season and gives you somewhere to potter on cooler days when you might otherwise prefer the fireside.

These days there are many labour saving devices to enable the infirm to carry on gardening. Seep hoses laid in borders and attached to a tap can water large expanses with minimum effort. Use a water timer on your tap which can water the garden before dawn, the best and most beneficial time for most plants.

Many wheelchair users and enthusiasts with mobility problems find a garden very therapeutic to their condition and general wellbeing. So Charlie Dimmock eat your heart out, show the professionals just what you can do!

Graham Smith for Third Age.

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