Creating a garden that will allow you to age in place

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I love my garden, and I want it to be a part of my life for a very, very long time. And like my home, I've done some things that will allow me to age in place, and be able to keep the garden.

A garden isn't something that most people imagine takes much athletic ability, but after my injury many years ago I got a harsh lesson on how difficult it can be to just do basic gardening stuff, like bending, reaching, stretching, and most importantly, not stepping on something that you might damage. In my twenties you cold have planted land mines in the garden and I would have been able to move easily around them, but after I spent a month in a wheelchair in my forties, my point of view changed. That was almost twenty years ago, and the reality of my living much longer than I'd ever imagined is happening.

I've done a lot of things to the house to make it safe. I don't have trip hazards (unless you count the wiener dogs, and they've been trained to stay out of my way) like loose rugs, or difficult stairs. My house can definitely accommodate a wheelchair, and it's certainly safe for someone considerably older than I am. But let's get back to the garden. I've created access in front and behind.

I learned this trick many years ago, to have access like this, based on a traditional perennial border, which is never more than six feet wide, and has access from both sides. My arms, by the way, are about three feet long, and I never need to put a foot in the garden.

I have friends who are older than me who have gardens without this type of design, and they simply must walk in and around their plants. And no matter how athletic they are, at whatever advanced age they are, old age will catch up with them, and make what used to be difficult absolutely impossible.

My goal is to try to avoid the impossible for as long as possible, and accept that things will be difficult for me, especially once I get into my 80s, and 90s. Based on the longevity in my family, I figure that I'm good for 100+, which means that I'll have another thirty years of enjoying this garden.

I love this place, and I want to be able to care for it, on my own, for as long as I can. I will age in place, along with the garden. We will grow old together.

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