Thank you for your concern. Barbara

Hi, Barbara @bblinder . I'm sorry you're having to give up gardening. It's so therapeutic. I've been working on our landscaping, trying to make it lower maintenance. I put down landscape cloth and cover it with mulch, to keep down the weeds. I'm planting mostly perennials and trees and bushes anymore. I know that regardless what we do, there will always be weeds to pull, and I use a hoe, and try to get them when they're just coming up. I keep a couple of spray bottles of Roundup close at hand to use when weeds get away from me. Some of them, I just leave because they're easier to pull up when they're taller, especially if the ground is wet. I keep cushions to kneel on and a cart that I can sit on. If I can, I just sit on the ground to work as far as I can reach, then slide over to the next spot. The challenge with that can be standing up again, which is when the cart comes in handy. I'll garden somehow, as long as I'm able. I have a lot of lawn, and I'm really grateful for my riding mower. I can do the whole job with it, and it's a 48 inch mowing deck, so the work goes pretty fast.

A neighbor in San Francisco had the ultimate low maintenance lawn. He poured concrete and painted it green.

Are you okay walking around the yard? At least there are some jobs that can be done standing up, with different types of hoes and other hand tools. I think that, even if I were in a wheelchair, I'd find things I could do, just to be outside and encouraging things along with a hose and some Miracle Grow. Maybe I could train my service dog to pull weeds.

Have a good evening, Barbara.

Jim