Easy Gardening Projects for Senior Hands
Gardening is an exceptional hobby for our health. According to UNC Health, gardening can reduce stress, improve our mood, and lead to physical improvements such as greater strength.
While the health benefits are great, many of us love gardening for the passion of the hobby. But as we age, it's harder to find easy gardening for seniors that doesn't lead to sore backs, hurt knees, or cramping hands.
If you're looking for gardening tips for seniors, we're here to help. Read on for a beginner's gardening guide that will help you bring gardening into your life.
Preparing a Terrarium
One of the most common suggestions is to prepare a terrarium. A terrarium is an enclosed, usually small or medium-sized garden. According to Missouri University, these date back at least 2,500 years!
These gardens are exceptionally customizable for the most part. They require plants that take little to no effort or attention, as they're meant to be closed away. You'll need to pick plants that fit this description so they can thrive in a terrarium.
Some terrariums focus on a desert landscape, using sand, rocks, and cactuses. Others have a more humid interior with mosses and even some fungi.
Terrariums are a perfect choice for an easy gardening project for seniors due to the lack of maintenance. They're generally small, meaning there won't be much strain for putting the terrarium together. Overall, they're an ideal choice to take on a new project.
Social Gardens
Gardening is peaceful, but gardening alone can be lonely. Studies have found that loneliness can lead to a significant increase in health issues, ranging from stress and dissatisfaction to feelings of depression.
Social gardens are a great way to combat this while also getting out with the community. As the name suggests, a social garden is a garden that focuses on socializing with your peers. These are common in many senior communities.
A social garden provides wonderful opportunities for everyone to get together, chat, and do some gardening. No one works too hard, as the workload is shared amongst everyone.
That way, the worst of the physical burdens are shared to avoid the common pains. However, it's still worthwhile to use senior-friendly gardening tools.
Consider what sort of social garden best fits your desires and see if there's one near you. If you can't find one, there's no reason you can't be the one to start it!
Caring for Succulents
Succulents have risen in popularity for a few years now, favored for how easy they are to care for. Succulents are a hardy type of plant that doesn't require much in the way of watering or maintenance. According to WVU, succulents are great for mental wellness and air quality.
There are also countless types of succulents that can fit any desire. Some have thick leaves that retain water, while others have thick stalks that grow slowly. Think bonsai trees but much lower maintenance.
Succulents are ideal as an easy gardening project due to how low maintenance they are. The only labor-intensive part of the project is putting the succulents where you'd like them to go. That makes them perfect for plant care for seniors who don't want much of a hassle.
Succulents also make ideal plants for the indoors. If you're planning an indoor garden, a succulent collection is a great way to start.
Simple Indoor Gardens
Speaking of indoor gardens, you have plenty of options if you want to focus on a garden for the indoors. Indoor gardens are great as senior projects due to typically requiring less maintenance.
They're also smaller, meaning you won't have as many heavy items. Most of them require less water, which can help keep the mess down. Here are three great choices for indoor gardens.
Bulb Gardens
Bulb gardens are simple, quick, and easy. A bulb garden is a type of flower garden that starts with a bulb you bury in the soil.
That gets rid of most of the difficulty of early planting. You don't have to worry about carefully caring for seeds and hope enough germinate. Your steps instead are:
- Plant the bulb in healthy soil
- Water the bulb according to directions
- Care for the plant as it grows
You'll skip most of the mess, most of the digging, and almost all of the hard parts of gardening. That makes this perfect for all gardeners, especially seniors.
Moss Gardens
Moss gardens have also become popular for indoor gardens. These are ideal for a room that needs -- or has -- excess humidity. While not as popular in New York, they're still a great idea, especially for elder gardens.
Moss gardens are just what they sound like. One of the most popular versions uses Spanish moss, which is exceptionally easy to care for.
Try growing moss off of a tall planter to make a curtain. When outdoors, mosses can attract some pests, so be careful depending on where you put your moss garden!
Windowsill Herb Gardens
Windowsill herb gardens are great simple garden designs for a gardening project. They're small herb gardens that fit in planters on your windowsill.
The windowsill is a perfect place to get some intermittent light. That'll keep your herbs happy and healthy, meaning all you need to do is water them. These gardens are great for:
- Room beautification
- Purifying air
- Providing you with cooking ingredients
One of the easiest herbs to grow is fresh ginger. Ginger grows beneath the soil, making it so that you won't have to regularly maintain it as much. Water it and keep the soil healthy and you'll have fresh ginger on demand in no time.
Easy Gardening for Seniors
Finding easy gardening for seniors may feel like you're searching for only basic projects, but there are plenty of engaging gardening projects that you can enjoy in your golden years. Indoor gardens, succulents, and social gardens are all great choices.
The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights is happy to help you enjoy your golden years in New York City. Our spacious rooms make Brooklyn your home, giving you the stunning essence of the city while we care for the little things. Contact us to see how we can help today.