Making gardening fun for wheelchair users

Nature has a therapeutic effect on everyone. Planting, weeding, watering and seeing your plants grow and give flowers feels great.

It’s a joy we don’t get to experience much in a city where green spaces are at a premium. Parks and gardens are a rare sight.

But we can always make our own green space in our small homes. Whether you live in an apartment or in a house, try and make sure that you do some gardening. This will add to the beauty of your home and refreshe you.

If you are a wheelchair user looking for some gardening tips, we have some side as for you. First, you must understand the space constraints, how much time you have and personal boundaries.

Prajith Jaipal is a wheelchair user and disability rights activist from Kerala. His love for nature and gardening knows no boundaries. Of course he also has the luxury of having a large space to let nature run wild. One can’t help but feel envious!

I have a property where I coconut and pepper trees. I love to see plants that are fruitful. Watching them grow and bloom is such a delight. It is always great to connect with nature. I even grow sweet lime and lemons at home. – Prajith Jaipal.

Check out these four tips to make gardening fun for wheelchair users

• Choose the height and width appropriate for you. Make sure you plant something that you can reach so you attend to them easily. If the plant bed is at a height, you will face difficulty in watering or pruning them. Do some research on the plants that you want to grow, the methods of growing it and so on.
• Store garden tools nearby – You must have the right tools to pluck out weeds, dig the soil and so on. Ensure that everything is kept at a place that is easily accessible. If you keep all the required tools together, you will not have difficulty.
• Research – Gardening is not as easy it might sound. Each plant demands different ways for its care. You must have a detailed insight into this. Today, there are many online mediums that introduce you to different plants and ways of taking care of them. You can even order plants online! A thorough research on this will help you have a better and planned garden.
• Have an extra chair for visitors – Who doesn’t love to show off toils of their hard work? We all have friends and family who visits us often. If you love gardening, make sure that you introduce your garden to visitors. This helps in boosting your confidence and definitely makes you feel good! It is ideal to keep an extra chair at your garden or the balcony where you do your gardening. That way, you can have eye to eye contact with the visitor and show them the fruits of your hard work!

Unni Maxx from Kerala loves gardening. He is a graphic designer and an ardent lover of nature.

“I feel that accessibility is what matters the most. When you take care of a plant, you must be able to give it full attention”, says Unni Maxx.

ALSO READ: Here are four things you must never tell a wheelchair user

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