Tips for Starting a Flower Garden This Spring

Growing your own flower garden can be a joyful way to spend some time. It’s an activity that people of all ages can engage in. While older gardeners or those with mobility challenges might need to adapt where and how they plant, it’s still possible for many people to continue enjoying this popular pastime.

There are many benefits to tending a garden beyond having beautiful flowers to fill your home all summer long. It’s great for reducing stress, creating muscle mass, maintaining core strength, and building stamina.

We have some tips to help you get started, from planning the garden to finding the right tools. So grab your sunscreen, take a walk around your yard, and use these ideas to begin gardening!

Starting a Flower Garden

• Create a layout for your garden spot

Gardening experts say it’s important to begin by carefully plotting the layout of your garden. Think about how much sun or shade the location receives, what size garden you can reasonably maintain, and how close it is to a water source.

Another tip is to place flowers that need the most attention in the most convenient locations. If any of the plants you choose will require you to kneel on the ground, group them more closely together. That’s especially helpful if you or a loved one who will be gardening with you struggles to get up and down.

• Consider raised beds or containers

Raised beds and containers offer the benefit of reducing or eliminating the need to stoop. Everything gets easier when you elevate your garden: planting, tending, weeding, and harvesting. The same goes for container gardening.

These types of gardens are also great for those with limited outdoor space. Containers are especially versatile, since they can be placed anywhere in the garden, on the patio, or even along the walkway to your front door. Fortunately, almost everything that grows in the ground can also grow in a raised bed or container.

• Choose location-appropriate plants

Another way to minimize the work involved with gardening is to select flowers that are native to your area of the country. They tend to be lower maintenance. Most require less frequent watering, fertilizing, and weeding.

If you aren’t sure what those might be, talk to an expert at a local garden center for advice. Or you can enter your zip code into this Native Plant Finder tool for a list of suggestions.

Tools and Technology to Make Gardening Easier

If you want to plan a garden that works for you now, as well as when you grow older, there are some tools and tech products to begin adding to your garden. Here are some of the most popular:

• Install a drip irrigation system: Before you protest the expense, it may help to know that today’s systems are more affordable than those of the past. There are setup costs, but the value they offer is likely worth it. After all, dragging a heavy garden hose around the garden is tiresome and can be difficult at any age.
• Invest in a sturdy garden cart: Ditch the tough-to-roll wheelbarrow. Opt for a garden cart with larger, sturdy wheels instead. It’s a great way to tote plants, tools, and materials around the yard. A cart can be pushed with minimal physical effort, unlike a wheelbarrow, which requires some lifting.
• Use a time-release fertilizer: If you’re gardening in raised beds or containers, one of the best ways to give your plants the nourishment they need is by inserting time-release fertilizer pellets into the soil. They allow you to simply “set and forget” that you are feeding your flowers. It couldn’t be easier!
• Try polymer crystals: This idea is similar to using fertilizer pellets, but they help keep flowers hydrated, not fed. That’s important as container gardens usually require more frequent watering. The crystals release water to plant roots over time, removing some of the hassle of regularly watering containers or raised beds.

One final suggestion might be to consider purchasing a mobile monitoring unit for safety purposes. It can give both of you peace of mind if you or a senior loved one gardens alone. Should you experience an emergency while you are tending to your plants, a simple push of the button will quickly summon help. Call 1-844-203-5617 to learn more!