How To Design An Accessible Garden

I feel that it is important to begin this hub by saying that I believe that gardening is one of the most rewarding and useful activities that people can spend their time doing.

There are many lessons for one thing, that you can learn from a well-designed garden; history, math, language, organizational skills, the appreciation of beauty and so on. Perhaps the most important aspect of gardening is that it can keep us in touch with nature. I view the garden as the place where Civilization and Nature meet. The garden’s job is to maintain the balance between the two forces so that the garden and all that is in it thrives.

You can start to garden at very early age and carry on until you pass on to another existence. What makes this possible is design.

A child’s garden can be a simple design that includes fast growing plants like radishes so the child can see the results quickly and sunflowers so they can enjoy the majesty of these garden giants. What you place between these two is all up to you and the time that is available for gardening.

Gardening does not require you to be physically fit. There are many tools that make basic gardening chores simpler and we will explore those in a future hub.

If you cannot bend over you can create a garden on a table top to which you can pull up a comfortable chair. This works well for a container garden. Remember when building a table top garden, it is important to consider the height of the table and the container. You want to keep it all within reach.

Window boxes are a great way to make your garden reachable or you can palce flower boxes on your balcony railing.

The most important consideration is that this is your garden so if you are designing it for yourself ask this question what do I need in order to garden comfortable?

If you are creating a garden for someone else then be sure to ask them that vital question.

Trellises are another way to keep you plants within reach. You can build your own or buy a trellis.

There is a wide range of plants that grow well on a trellis from clematis to zucchini. Here again what do you want to grow is an important question to answer? Are you looking for beauty or food, perhaps a bit of both?

Raised beds are another option and the video gives you some ideas about how to make a raised bed garden. You can even add a trellis to your raised bed.

You may find it essential to put in a pathway in order to make it easier to get around. We will examine pathways in a future hub but for now, the type of material will depend upon how you are getting around.

You may want to give some thought to the fragrant garden; herbs for example will give off their aroma as you walk through the garden. Herbs are easy to grow and work well in containers regardless of where you place that container, as long as they get the light that they need.

I believe that anyone who wants to can garden, it all rests in the design.