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What activity do you refuse to give up? How do you adapt to age?
I spent the afternoon in my favorite place - my yard and garden. I have gardened since the age of 9, had my own gardens for 54 years, been a Master Gardener volunteer for over 20 years and in two very different climates. I'm not "old" at 74 but I have a lot challenges with arthritis, bad shoulders, bad lungs, occasional vertigo...
While "removing winter" and preparing for the new season, I thought a lot about how to simplify 8 very different garden beds so I can manage them going forward.
Here are my ideas so far:
Simplify:
Replace annuals with tough perennials and attractive ground covers. Replace aggressive perennials with low-care shrubs.
Replace high-maintenance plants like roses with natives and other easy-care plants.
Use natural mulch and ground covers to keep weeds down, instead of wood chips that need to be replaced often.
Adapt:
Use mulch, Preen and ground cover to reduce weeds.
Hire help for the heavy work, and for intense seasonal tasks like "putting the gardens to bed." Even once or twice a year is a big help.
Put heavy patio pots on wheels for ease in moving.
Reduce:
Smaller gardens. A few vegetables in pots instead of a big garden (after all, you can get produce to can or freeze at the local Farmers' Market and support small businesses.)
Shrubs, decorations and landscape rocks in place of dozens or hundreds of plants.
Plant an "esy care" lawn rich in native clover or other ground cover and tough low-need, low-growing grasses.
Automate:
Irrigate with drip lines set on timers, or and irrigation system. The initial investment pays off over time.
What is your favorite activity, and how can you adapt as you go forward?
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Some really good ideas. I have put all my pots on rollers; I have downsized my gardens as well; i have added benches to sit on; increased my exercises for upper body strength.
I have also purchased those light weight collapsing hoses - SUCH a huge benefit! I do keep them in the shade though when not in use to extend their life.
Added a light pebble meditation spiral, easy to putter with and rake.
I refuse to live indoors, outdoors is my life.
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6 ReactionsWe're loving the lightweight hose, especially since one outdoor faucet has declined to function for now, so I am hauling hose to all corners of the property. I couldn't have done it with my contractor grade ones!
I have been converting all garden beds to easier maintenance- low care perennials, small shrubs, rocks and other non-plant decor. Since they cover roughly 2500 square feet, this is a multi-year process, this is year three, I figure it will take another 3 😁.
The hardest thing I have learned is that I can nolonger garden 8 hours a day - maybe 4 or 5 if I pace myself. The upside - frequent breaks allow me to sit and enjoy a lot more.
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7 ReactionsI feel the same way. I am 75 but I totally refuse to give up weightlifting, simply because it’s made such a positive change in my once skinny body.
Of course I can’t lift as heavy as I once did and that’s definitely upsetting to me, but I’m grateful to God I can still lift at all!
I’m just trying to keep on keeping on, and with the Lord’s help, I will!
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13 ReactionsThat's marvelous. Just keep on dancing.
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2 ReactionsI totally get it! For myself personally I find some days really challenging with my RA but just do what I can. For teaching, I find my people are OK with me just sitting and giving directions when I need to. I feel very lucky!
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4 ReactionsI refuse to give up a cocktail or glass of wine in the evening and the ocasional bowl of vanilla ice cream.
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9 ReactionsYou go, girl/guy!
I love to make things. I have AMD and can’t see as well for detail, but I’ve started using plarn and other reclaimed materials because then I don’t feel the pressure of messing up an expensive cloth or yarn. I am free to try things out. I am building a loom so I can try weaving when needles get too hard, but for now, I have tricks that help me like a needle threader, like using light so I can see the shine of the needle and my fingernail to gauge where the next stitch goers. I’ve found that if I let ‘doing a perfect job’ go, there’s really a lot I can still do. In the kitchen, I refer to the bread I bake and other dishes as my experiments. Sometimes they don’t come out as well as I hoped, but more often, they are delicious. I have colored knives, a safety glove, and a bamboo frame for cutting bread. I feel like adapting is a creative act and I enjoy it.
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11 ReactionsI absolutely love your description of adapting to age as a creative activity in itself.
And you are so right - I used to love to see the adjustments my Mom and her friends made to continue doing what they loved. Last week my husband and I got a lighter, shorter and more stable ladder so we can continue to maintain our home. And we ofter collaborate on tasks that we used to be able to do alone.
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5 ReactionsI enjoy coloring intricate books with gel pens. It puts me into a Zen state. I'm 83.
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8 Reactions