Ways to make gardening easier

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What tips can you offer to make gardening easier on the body? I love to putter around and work in the garden, but my back and knees have caused me to curtail my gardening activities.

There is no doubt that gardening can be hard on a body. Joints stiffen up, prolonged kneeling causes discomfort, and bending and reaching can strain muscles. But that does not mean you have to give up your hobby. You might just need to garden differently by adding some specialized tools and knowing your limits. Here are some tips that may help.

Limber Up With gardening, good form is very important, as well as not overdoing any one activity. A common problem is that gardeners often kneel or squat, which puts extra pressure on their knees. To provide relief from these positions, gardeners will then stand and bend over for long stretches to weed, dig and plant. This prolonged standing and bending places strain on the back and spine.

To help protect your body, you should warm up before beginning. Start by stretching, concentrating on the legs and lower back. Once you start gardening, it helps to frequently change positions and activities. For instance, do not spend hours weeding a flower bed. After 15 minutes of weeding, stand up, stretch and switch to another activity like pruning the bushes. You should also take rest breaks.

It is also important that you recognize any physical limitations and not try to do too much at once. When lifting heavier objects, remember to use your legs to protect your back. You can do this by keeping the item close to your body and keeping your back as vertical as possible when squatting.

Get Better Tools The proper gardening equipment can also help. Kneeling pads can protect knees, while garden seats can limit back and knee pain. Lightweight garden carts and collapsible wheelbarrows make hauling mulch, dirt, plants or other heavy objects much easier. Long-handled gardening and weeding tools ease back strain by keeping you in a standing upright position vs. bent over.

There are also ergonomic gardening and pruning tools with larger handles and other design features that can make lawn and garden activities less painful. Your local garden store or online retailer may sell a variety of specialty lawn and garden tools that will ease the stress on your body.

Make Watering Easier The chore of carrying water or handling a heavy, awkward hose can also be difficult for some gardeners. Watering alternatives include lightweight fabric or expandable hoses, soaker or drip hoses that can be snaked throughout the garden, thin coil hoses that can be used on the patio or small areas, a hose caddy and reel for easier hose transport around the yard, or a self-winding hose. There are also a variety of ergonomic watering wands that are lightweight and easy to grip to reach those hard to-get-to plants.

Bring the Garden to You If your backyard garden has become too much to handle, you should consider elevated garden beds or container gardening with big pots, window boxes, hanging baskets, barrels or tub planters. This is a much easier way to garden because it eliminates much of the bend and strain of gardening but still provides the pleasure of watching things grow.

“Savvy Living” is written by Jim Miller, a regular contributor to NBC’s “Today Show.” The column, and others like it, is available to read via The American Legion’s Planned Giving program, a way of establishing your legacy of support for the organization while providing for your current financial needs. Consider naming The American Legion in your will or trust as a part of your personal legacy. Learn more about the process, and the variety of charitable programs you can benefit, at legion.org/plannedgiving. Clicking on “Learn more” will bring up an “E-newsletter” button, where you can sign up for regular information from Planned Giving.