Creating an arthritis friendly garden

Bed and border design

It’s a good idea to have narrow beds and borders. This allows you to tend to your beds without having to overstretch. The recommended maximum width is 50cm. Beyond this, you will need to step into the bed to reach your plants.

Simple lawns

If you have a large lawn, it can need regular maintenance through mowing and edging.

If you want to make your lawn easier to manage, you could reduce the size. This doesn’t mean concreting over your garden. If you replace sections with gravel, you can still have planting areas within the gravel.

If you have a lawn, choose straight edges instead of curving. This will make mowing easier.

To make edges easier to maintain, you could have a solid edge, e.g. log rolls or concrete based. When you have grass all the way to your borders, it can take work to keep tidy.

Manageable distances

Try and design your space so you don’t have to carry items too far. Have your shed close to where you use the items – e.g. near the lawn if you have a lawnmower.

Containers and raised beds

You may prefer to grow plants in raised beds or elevated containers. These are especially helpful if bending is hard or you garden from a wheelchair.

Read our articles on container gardening or gardening in raised beds for more advice.

No dig gardening

Digging is a good workout and can be quite therapeutic. It is also quite a strong and repetitive movement. You may find digging causes you discomfort.

If you want to reduce the need for digging, you may want to look into the no dig method. There is plenty of information, including FAQs, on Charles Dowding’s website . Some principles to keep in mind:

• For new beds, some advance work is needed to remove weeds without digging. This can take several months, or up to a year
• For existing beds, simply add a layer of mulch and planting into them as normal. You will need a large quantity of mulch to cover your bed
• By not digging, in theory worms and other microorganisms that are essential to soil health survive. It is also makes the task of preparing beds and borders much easier physically!

You can reduce the effort needed to garden through your plant selection.

Plants that like dry conditions will need less watering. Agapanthus, lavender, hardy geranium, geum, sedum and grasses are all good choices.

If you are growing fruit and veg, there are ways you can make these easier to manage. Some dwarf varieties of fruit tree, for example, will never grow beyond a metre or two in height.