Yard Maintenance Tips for Senior Citizens

As senior citizens with a half-acre of property to attend to, my husband and I are quickly discovering that we need to make some changes in how we do our yard work. We purchased this home in 2002 with retirement in mind. We were looking for a house and yard that would not require as much work to maintain as we aged.

Because of some medications that we both take these days, we can no longer be out in direct sunlight in the heat of the day. With our outdoor time so limited, we are re-thinking our yard and flower bed areas in order to minimize the time it takes to keep our yard clean, neat and attractive.

Tip #1 - Downsizing
One thing we are currently doing is cutting back on some areas of our yard that previously required a lot of maintenance. We removed a large portion of our gravel driveway in the back by raking up and moving the gravel. We started early and took frequent rest breaks. Next we will be planting grass seed in that area so all that is needed is to run the ride mower over it it keep it cut. We were constantly battling weeds that were determined to pop up in our gravel driveway, so by eliminating a lot of the gravel and replacing it with grass, it will be much easier to maintain simply by using weed and feed products once the grass is substantial. We still have plenty of driveway and parking area left for ourselves and our guests.

We also down-sized our bird sanctuary area in the backyard. We still have a nice space for our feathered friends but it is now much easier to maintain. By placing a layer of weed barrier matting and then applying a heavy layer of mulch on top, it inhibits weed growth which means less work for me.

Tip #2 - Repurposing
The gravel we removed from the driveway was moved to another area that was problematic. This area is behind my husband's workshop. We spread the gravel and then poured a strong weed killer over it to remove any vegetation that was growing. This process can be repeated as necessary without any harm to our grassy backyard. The gravel in this area extends space for keeping our trash cans, rain barrel, etc.

Tip #3 - Choose plants carefully - Let them work for you
In our front flower beds, we planted vinca minor or periwinkle as a ground cover. It has taken a couple of years for this plant to get fully established, but now it is dense and prevents growth of weeds in the flower beds. We still need to do some light weeding but not as much as before. As this area continues to fill in with periwinkle, it will become a very pretty bed with its evergreen leaves and small blue flowers which grow year-round. One thing you need to know about most ground covers is that they grow very slowly. Remember the old saying, the first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap. I found that to be true with vinca minor (periwinkle).

Planted among the periwinkle, we have our hedges of evergreen boxwood which requires only a little trimming once or twice a year. Electric clippers make quick work of this task. We do still add a layer of mulch periodically within this bed just to help the periwinkle with their job of keeping weeds out of the flower bed.

Tip #4 - Work Smarter, Not Harder
One more project I want to accomplish in the near future is to raise a flower bed we have on the southwest side of our house. By elevating this bed, it will be much easier to maintain and will require no bending over in order to keep it weed free. In this bed, I have a variety of plants, such as, daisies, miniature rose bushes, asian lilies, mums and even a spot for a few tomato plants. This bed is visible from the street so it is important to keep it looking nice at all times. I would like to add a brick base that matches our house and fill it with good soil, elevating the plant bed to a height that can be maintained without bending over in order to remove weeds. My achy bones just don't tolerate much of that these days. Re-planting my existing flowers should be easy enough and we will also have room to add a few more plants next spring.

By changing how we do our yard work, things should be much easier to maintain, require less time out in the heat and still keep our yard looking great. It is time for us to work smarter instead of harder by downsizing, choosing plants that require less maintenance and including some plants that contribute to the work of keeping flower beds weed free.

Source: My Backyard