Gardening From a Wheelchair BY Fred Walden

Tips for wheelchair gardeners

Updated 21st Feb 2010

After 16 years of gardening on my feet I suddenly found myself in a wheelchair wondering how I was going to manage my hobby and passion.  Firstly I fashioned some tools then set about re-designing my garden. 25 years on  -  gardening is my career and rarely a day goes by when I'm not involved in plants or tools.

My early attempts at tool and garden design caught the interest of the medical/rehab community and soon I was gainfully employed researching equipment and techniques, and assisting clients as a horticultural therapist.

With the help of the engineers at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital in Oxford I was able to modify or design equipment that began to influence manufacturers wanting better products for an aging and affluent population of gardeners.

After leaving my NHS job I became self-employed and now mostly work helping able-bodied gardeners find tools and equipment and help manufacturers market better quality, easier to use products.

The most common advice given to gardeners in wheelchairs is to build raised beds and bring the plants up to your level. Whilst this seems like a good idea it is not always the best solution and probably based on someone not thinking things through properly.

With a few tools and techniques it is very practical for most wheelchair users to garden "normally" with plants at ground level. There are several  problems with raised bedding. Firstly - cost and construction, it can be expensive and look hideous.

Secondly  -access is mostly from the side which makes working difficult. If you make space underneath for access the the soil depth is reduced and plants dry out or fall over. Finally if you plant a small seedling in a raised bed it will be at your level, however as it grows it may well disappear from reach and unlike Jack and the beanstalk you wont be climbing up to see the fruits. (unless you're that Andy guy from Little Britain)

I am not totally against raised bedding and have  areas of it myself. It has it's uses but I don't like to see a garden  dominated by it.

If you can design some narrower easily accessible borders at ground level a few carefully selected tools is probably all you need.

My favourite tools are long reach pruners, lightweight push pull hoes, small rakes, forks and trowels, (especially with telescopic handles for easier transportation) and battery powered grass and shrub trimmers. None of the tools I use are special tools for disabled people, all of them are "mainstream" products and widely available. If you are a quadriplegic or have limited upper body strength then there are a few specialist tools that may help or you could adapt existing tools with extra handles.

The main area where a wheelchair user will need to develop a special technique is in soil preparation and planting.

Digging large areas of soil with a large fork or spade is not an option unless you want to become more disabled. If you have good soil a regular hoeing should be enough or there is a tool called a soil miller that works like a push-pull plough. A bulb planter or long handled trowel can be used to dig a planting hole and the plants can be dropped in by hand, on a trowel or by a grabber depending on its size. I then use the T handle of my trowel to firm down the soil.

Mowing a lawn can now be done with robotic mowers which start at £600 and are really effective. I have used one for over 5 years and before that had a hover mower attached to the front of an electric wheelchair.

Probably the most important thing for any gardener but more so for a disabled gardener is choosing plants that you can manage. if you plant a lot of Buddleias (butterfly bush) you will end up doing a lot of pruning, clearing of leaves and disposing of rubbish, every year! if you grow a dwarf Hebe you will get similar flowers, butterflies and no-where near as much work.

Garden Tools Suitable for Wheelchair Users

 

Battery Powered Grass Shears Using conventional lawn edging shears is difficult from a  wheelchair and the one handed versions are slow and tiring to use. My tool of choice for trimming grass are these battery powered electric shears. There are 2 versions with different strength batteries but both can be fitted with the optional telescopic handle that makes them one of the best gardening tools for wheelchair users. The optional handle costs about £20 and can be rotated to allow the shears to trim edges as well as flat areas of grass. The handle has a built in switch for convenience and can be removed in seconds if you want to use the shears  to trim shrubs or topiary.

Electric shears are easier to handle that a strimmer.

The Bosch ISIO is similar to the Award winning Wolf trimmer but it is smaller, lighter and cheaper. 2 Tools in 1 Grass and shrub trimming! The Bosch ISIO can be converted from a grass shear to a small shrub trimmer in seconds and is surprisingly efficient. I also like the drop in charger base and metal tin that the tool comes in. Running time is very good thanks to the Li-ion batteries and I get 20 minutes use which included some woody shrub material. The softer the material you cut the longer the battery will last between re-charges. The Bosch ISIO is available as a grass trimmer and/or a shrub trimmer. There is also a kit that includes both blades which is very good value and known as the "Bosch ISIO shape and edge kit" A new , breakthrough in powered garden tools, this lightweight grass shear and shrub trimmer has Lithium Ion batteries for power and durability. Lithium ion batteries are also more environmentally friendly than Nicads or Nimh batteries.

 

Long Handled Cut and Hold Pruner This long handled cut and hold pruner is one of my favorite tools and one that I have used for over 10 years. That's why it won the first ever Golden Shed Award. It comes in different sizes from the 650mm version shown here right up to the  telescopic one that extends to 3m! This tool is ideal for light pruning up to16mm thick, and for deadheading roses etc. Whilst working as an NHS horticultural therapist I recommended this tool to hundreds of patients with back pain. I received many letters of thanks and never had a tool returned faulty.  650 mm version shown left-  but the best version is longer at 1m and is superb for reaching climbing roses or into the back of deep prickly borders. The "snapper" can be used one or two handed and has a lot of handle adjustment. It is also very well made and I am still using one that I have had for over 10 years. click here for prices on both versions

Long Handled Fork and Spade A good alternative to the tool above are these mid length stainless steel tools with T handles. The fork and spade heads are not as strong as the Spork above but if you treat them sensibly they will last and are great tools for wheelchair users and indeed anyone how cant manage the larger size border forks and spades.

These are great tools for light digging, don't use them to lever roots or heavy plants up as they may bend!

Cutting Hedges from a wheelchair is possible and in fact effective if you have strong arms and a lightweight  hedge trimmer. The lightest hedge trimmers are the battery powered cordless ones where you carry the battery separately on a belt or about your person. I use this Gtech HT05 with a rechargeable 14v Li-ion battery built into the handle. The small but powerful  battery lasts long enough for me to trim a few hedges and it is best not too do too much of this type of work in one go anyway. The Gtech cordless hedge trimmer is fully adjustable to any angle to suit your needs.
Helping Hand Pick Up tools These tools can be useful in the garden, my personal favourite is the one below which can even pull out weeds and has a extendable spike to collect litter too.
Do you have steps in your garden? Need better access to your shed? Visit friends who have steps to their house? Make your garden more wheelchair accessible  buy lightweight wheelchair ramp
The Black and Decker Alligator has a 550w motor and weights about 4KG. It will easily cut branches up to 100mm It combines the power of a small chainsaw with the two sided pressure of loppers and is safe and easy to use. There is also an 18v battery powered version too.  use links below to buy from a Fredshed recommend supplier      check price of the Alligator	Safety Chainsaw for thick branch pruning

Lightweight and Easy to use Garden Shredder Winner of the 2007 Golden Shed Award	The Bosch rapid shredders are light and easy to use. I can actually move one from my garage to patio with one had whilst moving my wheelchair with the other. Ok I'm a clever *** but there are not many machines I could do this with as they are either too heavy or badly balanced.

A petrol Flymo pushed by an electric wheelchair was how I cut my lawn for a while	Driving the electric garden cart was fun and attracted a lot of attention.

Sack wheels and alternatives -Move Pots and tubs easily

(Also boxes)

 

This fantastic new invention makes moving pots and tubs a doddle. It uses the leverage principle and can be used with one hand. I am a wheelchair user and even I can move heavy tubs now! You simply slide the top handle down over the rim of the tub and lean the trolley back to lift the pot. This well made (Holland) piece of equipment can lift pots up to 50kg and really does work a treat. It can also be used to move heavy boxes!

Ground Reinforcing Material This is a new system of plastic tiles that is used to produce a strong stable surface on lawns or areas of soil. The perfo system is more versatile than others I have seen and is incredibly strong, however as it is designed to take lorries it is very expensive and the square holes can be a problem for the smaller wheelchair castors Once installed grass can grow between the tiles and even be mowed to create a natural looking surface. If you would like a more domestic type of plastic garden path at a reasonable price click the link below buy a low price plastic garden path

  Cut and Hold Secateur from Felco

 

Felco secateurs are the classic tool used by more professionals than any other secateur. The tried and tested design has been around for years and has also been copied more than any other tool. It is the HIGHEST quality product and all parts can be replaced if necessary. The classic 100 secateur has now been improved with the addition of a cut and hold mechanism  that is especially useful when stretching to deadhead or for general pruning. Needless to say this mechanism is also indispensable if for any reason you only have the use of one hand, for example if you are in a wheelchair and need one hand to hold your wheel for balance.

Price approx £45  - Made in Switzerland There is a large range to suit your plants and hand size. Including left handed secateurs buy Felco secateurs online from garden4less (this site has good discounts) check prices with another Fredshed partner

 Still can't find the tool you are looking for?
 

For free expert advice - on buying tools, (on and off-line) mail me at
fred@fredshed.com 

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