Plant a Wheelchair Garden

Build a wheelchair garden for the plant-lover in your life who can no longer do the physical work regular gardening requires. Think elevated planting boxes and hanging plants...beautiful gardens are possible simply by changing the focus away from ground-level planting areas.

Adapt raised beds by making them tall enough to be reached easily and safely from a wheelchair. If this means you must move too much soil to fill deep beds, build elevated beds. A traditional raised bed has no bottom and sits directly on the soil. An elevated bed is a planting box on legs. The soil-filled box of an elevated bed should be at least 12 inches deep. The bottom of the box should be sturdy, with drainage holes. Customize your elevated beds to suit the gardener who will use them. Someone with limited reach needs a narrow planting box so she can work in all corners without straining.

Build planter boxes of various shapes and sizes to fit the space you have available. A bench with a planter box on each end creates comfortable seating plus garden containers. Build the bench the correct height so your gardener can move safely from a scooter or wheelchair to the bench. Design the planting boxes so he can reach the entire soil area easily while sitting on the bench, and attach smooth "D" handles to the bench for safety grips. To help you gauge the size of a planting box, a 24" by 24" by 24" container is large enough to hold a dwarf fruit tree with plenty of surface space around the tree for small plants.

Planting boxes and benches require you to work sideways while seated. Twisting and turning can become very uncomfortable. Remedy this by making elevated boxes that allow a wheelchair to pull up from the front, like a desk.

Arrange a series of elevated beds or planting boxes with smooth pathways between. Make the garden paths at least 40 inches wide for wheelchair use, and leave plenty of turn-around space at the ends of rows. Plan the garden with mature plants in mind. Summer's growth may produce hazardous, low-hanging branches that were unforeseen in the springtime. Just as in regular ground-level gardening, use mulch to control weeds and reduce watering needs.

Install an irrigation system so it won't be necessary to carry water or wrestle with a garden hose. Drip irrigation systems utilize flexible plastic tubing that can be installed from bed to bed. You place small emitters along the tubing only where plants are growing, so drip systems are very efficient. Watering is automatic simply by turning on a main faucet; most drip irrigation systems can incorporate plant-feeding modules, too.

Small hand garden tools are perfect for elevated beds and plant containers, but gripping the tool handles can be painful or next to impossible for someone with arthritis. To soften the grip on hand tools you already own, use foam hot water pipe insulation, the type that is a hollow foam tube slit along its length. Cut the insulation foam the length of the handle, slip it over the tool handle, and tape it in place.

Check with your favorite garden shop for specialty tools. Manufacturers have developed ergonomically designed hand tools that are comfortable to grasp and to use. Even difficult tasks can be made easy. For example, ratchet-type pruners allow you to prune small branches with a few easy clicks of the handles. Many garden tools are now available in light weight versions and with different handle lengths.

More ideas for Accessible Gardening:
http://www.mobility-advisor.com/wheelchair-gardening.html
http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/02/wheelchair-gardening-tips/
http://www.carryongardening.org.uk/gardening-sitting-down-and-from-a-wheelchair.aspx