The initial green work out should start with some gentle stretching before
heading off to the potting shed to warm up muscles and joints and reduce the
risk of strain. If you delve into the borders, a kneeling mat is an essential
piece of kit but remember to plant your knees firmly in the middle of it rather
than bending and stretching further than you are used to. As for digging, Doc and I try to avoid it. There is much to be said for no-dig methods
of cultivation and there is no satisfaction to be had from a neatly double-dug
garden if you spend the rest of the week in bed!
Lifting is always risky, whether it is a small plant or a
heavy bag of rubbish and given how many gardeners are pulling on their wellies and
lugging bags of compost around at this time of year, it’s a wonder the A & E
departments are not full. We should
remember to bend our knees and keep the back straight, both when picking up and putting down. How many of us face the direction in which
the load is to be carried to order to avoid twisting our spines?
We don’t have a hover mower but a neighbour
tells me they are notorious for causing back problems. This is because the user
tends to swing it from side to side instead of pushing it in front, facing the
direction they are cutting the grass.
Since I now have limited capabilities in the garden I don’t
have to worry too much about over-doing it on the plot because I know my
limitations. However, I have always been
a firm believer in changing tasks regularly.
This means I do tasks that use different parts of my body rather than
doing lots of repetitive movement. But
the best thing is not to try and do everything at once. An hour a day is enough
initially and you can always work up to more as the days get longer.
Currently my average time spent in the
garden at any one time is around half an hour and it is surprising how much can
be done in such a short time. I focus on
two or three small tasks which I plan in advance and regrettably I have to
accept I cannot do the more energetic jobs.
Today I cut back some sedum 'Autumn
Joy'. The flowers bring a rich, deep pink to the flower border in the autumn and
then the flower heads go to seed, turn brown and provide texture and form
throughout the winter months. They also
protect the fresh, young green shoots from frost. Eventually though, the attractive bronze
turns to grey and withered so I have cut the back the clump to just above the
new growth.
Whilst I was snipping off the spent stems of the sedum I sniffed with the sweet, heady scent of the creamy-white flowers of our Sarcococca (sweet box). It is a compact, evergreen shrub which flowers in winter, followed by followed by red, purple or black berries which persist into the following winter
The backdrop to this duo is a
combination of yellow and red cornus (dogwood).
The stems catch the low winter sunlight and brighten up the garden. The harder you cut this back in the spring,
the richer is the display of coloured stems in the winter and the time to do
this is around now. However, it still
looks so delightful that I could not bring myself to take the loppers to it. I will leave it a week or too longer and we
can enjoy the colour until the spring garden explodes into life.Whilst I was snipping off the spent stems of the sedum I sniffed with the sweet, heady scent of the creamy-white flowers of our Sarcococca (sweet box). It is a compact, evergreen shrub which flowers in winter, followed by followed by red, purple or black berries which persist into the following winter
These
plants – the sedum, the sweet box and the dogwood – are firm favourites of mine. They are reliable, must-haves for the autumn
and winter garden. By the time I had
tidied them up today and scooped up a pile of soggy leaves, I was tired but
refreshed from being outside, even if it was only for a short while. I only wish I had taken my camera with me!
My
next tasks are to prune the wisteria and cut back the tall Verbena 'bonariensis' – but that will have to wait for another day.
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