A guide to gardening for older people

This Aged Care Guide will cover the tools, the basics, the suggestions and the people you can reach out to, in case you are unable or unwilling to do it all yourself.

People who can help

Need a hand with a green thumb? This Aged Care Guide is for you. (Source: Shutterstock)

Key points:

Start small — build up to the wheelbarrows and heavy lifting when you’re confident in your abilities

If you are undertaking a big task on your own, consider getting someone to watch your back
You don’t have to garden yourself — compare companies, quotes and services

As people age, they grow to appreciate the simple things in life and the pleasure of nature’s green and vibrant beauty. Gardening is a common hobby amongst retirees and while some might be pros and have a green thumb, others might still be very new to it; and learning to use all the necessary tools might take some time and patience.

This Aged Care Guide will cover the tools, the basics, the suggestions and the people you can reach out to, in case you are unable or unwilling to do it all yourself.

Which tools do I need to garden?

If you’re going to begin gardening, it’s important to protect yourself using:

Gardening gloves
Kneeling pad
Water bottle (as it can get rather hot if you’re out in the sun)
Sunscreen and a hat
Bug spray (for mosquitos, flies and whatever might be crawling in your garden)
A phone near you

Next, you’ll be dealing with dirt, so make sure to get the relevant tools at your hardware supply store, such as Bunnings or Mitre10, if you don’t already have them, such as:

Some old clothes you don’t mind getting messy
A shovel or hand-shovel for digging
A rake, leafblower or broom to keep the mess under control
A bucket or wheelbarrow which is sturdy enough to hold debris, soil, leaves or mud
Some clippers or shears to chop away merrily
Pest or insecticide spray to ensure that nothing nibbles away at your growing seeds or blooming flowers
Weed killer
A hose with different attachments
Potentially a handsaw or weedwhacker (Careful)
A soil tester with instructions on how to use it
Fertiliser
Some fruit, flower or plant seeds

The basics

Your patience and hard work will come to fruition with a perfect lush garden space if you follow these simple steps.

When you’re buying fruit, flower or plant seeds, make sure that what you’re buying is suited to the plot of soil in your yard (which you can do through testing using the tool), the weather, time of year and the sun that your soil is exposed to.

When you’ve worked out what you have and where it’s going, you’ll want to dig out any weeds to start with so they don’t invade your new plants. Then dig a hole and place fertiliser on your plot before you drop the seed in. Fill the hole back up with dirt and water it every now and then, using fertiliser to keep it growing when needed.

Make sure to use weed killers, pesticides and insecticides as advised and consider getting some help from a relative to fence off the area. Poisons can be fatal to household pets, so make sure that everything is placed out of reach of your fluffy friends and the grandkids.

Take a break every hour or half hour and immediately stop in case of pain, injury, cuts or scrapes and apply rubbing alcohol to any wounds. Wash hands when pausing or stopping for the day, as even while wearing gloves, you may risk cross contamination.

Don’t worry if it takes a while to get things right! You’ll get there eventually, but if you’re not confident in getting everything done — no one can blame you.

Thankfully, for a pretty garden, you can reach out to readily available professionals for a fee.