Good Gardening Doesn’t Stop as You Get Older

Are you an aging-in-place gardener? You know the type—people like my 91-year-old mother who is still growing tomatoes and other vegetables, summer flower pots on the porch, and houseplants galore. She is not quite as active as she used to be, and she has downsized some of the garden.
Or are you a gardener who is getting arthritis? My shoulder really hurts when I lift my arm too high. Have you had your knees replaced? I know several gardeners who have gone through one or both knee replacements. Even if you are a young gardener now, you are getting older every day, and the time will come when old age sneaks up on you.
In other words, everyone should get a copy of both books by the gentle teddy bear of a young-at-heart gardener Duane Pancoast. He wrote “The Geriatric Gardener: Adaptive Advice for Seniors” and The Geriatric Gardener 2.0: More Adaptive Gardening Advice for Seniors.” Both books are as essential to gardeners as books on pruning, weeding, or any other gardening task.
He offers many great tips and explains how we don’t have to compromise our desirable garden, but we can adapt it to fit our health and abilities. Finally, when our outdoor gardening is over, we don’t have to be a retired gardener; there are many indoor plants that are very low maintenance. Get the books directly from Duane at thepancoastconcern.com/the_geriatric_gardener.
Another book that is oriented toward the senior gardener is Toni Gatone’s “The Lifelong Gardener: Garden with Ease and Joy at Any Age.” Toni is a frequent speaker on topics such as herbs, fruits, vegetables, rooftop gardens, and more. Her book is filled with tried-and-true methods of gardening that will eliminate physical strains by using the proper tools. It is available at bookstores and Amazon.
One of the tips that both Duane and Toni give for gardeners is to plant into containers. Barbara Wise is another garden speaker and author. She wrote “Container Gardening for All Seasons.” This book dives into 101 beautiful flowerpots. Each one has a recipe that is easy to follow. You don’t have to be a senior gardener to enjoy this book. Just pick a picture of a flowerpot that you like and go to the garden center to buy the plants. Plant it following the recipe, and you will have the prettiest flowers on the block. It is also available at bookstores and Amazon.
One of the ways that senior gardeners can reduce the labor involved in maintaining their landscape is to replace some of the lawn grass with ground cover plants. This is especially true in shady areas where grass doesn’t grow as well as other plants. A great book that teaches you how to effectively remove the grass and pick a prettier, lower maintenance plant is “Groundcover Revolution.” Author Kathy Jentz is also the editor for Washington Gardener Magazine and the award-winning GardenDC Podcast. “Groundcover Revolution” is again in bookstores and Amazon.
Don’t forget, the “Greener View Gardening” book is available on Amazon. It is for gardeners of every age and every experience level. It also pairs up with my YouTube channel which will have 400 videos by the end of the year. I would love to hear from you on which topics you want me to cover with videos in the new year.