​Gardening without bending

This account has to be prefaced with a couple of points.

​What I write about will not be for everyone following hip surgery. We have to be very careful not to bend, not to do too much, to keep steady on the ground. In my case I have worked as a landscape gardener for over 30 years and have a very productive and ornamental garden at home which covers about 2/3 of an acre. Before my operation, even though mobility was limited I could bend and was able to work in the garden, not all day, perhaps an hour at a time, but sufficient to do the preparation for this years displays and harvests.

Having recently returned home from having a hip replacement and watched the weeds pushing their heads above the parapet, so to speak, my mind it took to wondering how I could deal with their incursions. The grabber I bought from the orthopaedic department before I left hospital ( its like those litter pickers you see being used around town sometimes ) has been invaluable indoors. I did try it outside to pull up some of the weeds but it would need some modifying to work better. However I realised that I could perhaps use my long handled hoe ( without bending ) and then pick up the piles ( without bending ) with the grabber. This worked. Following recent rain the ground is soft and the weeds come up easily.

With the satisfaction this brought me I realised there are several non bending activities in the garden that can help those recuperating to be outdoors whilst staying within the firm recommendations against straining the new hip, so here they are, some of them.

• Deadheading roses. Prolongs the flowering, but leave the low ones if you have to bend.​
• Taking cuttings. Because its summer there are lots of plants that can be propagated easily. For me its an opportunity to ask friends for a few pieces of select specimens that are worth having. My friends Helynne and Trevor have a good looking white Hydrangea in their garden that they are going to share with my when I ask nicely. The dark leaved Aeonium ( A arboretum 'Shwarzkop' ) is easy to root. Either in compost or even in a jar of water on the windowsill. The hardy Aloe, ( A. striatula ) similarly roots readily at this time of year
• Sowing seed. Good at any time of year. Those seeds that were surplus from last year and are still in the tin are always worth checking through. Swiss Chard, which overwinters has been sown ( early August ) and seed from the bright Gaillardia in the garden has been collected and sown.
• Potting on. With help to move bags of compost onto a raised position I have been able to pot on several young plants. Very satisfying to help the roots move out to new minerals and convert the summer light into new healthy growth. My Hydrangeas which I usually want to be blue invariably come out pink in my non acid soil. I have been able to incorporate Hydrangea colourant ( iron and aluminium salts ) into the new acid compost for last years rooted Hydrangeas cuttings which in theory means they should now come out blue.
• Spray Epsom salts. The pale leaves on a few of my plants are most likely due to a deficiency of Magnesium. Foliar sprays will help.
• Green fly. A small hand spray with horticultural soap will deal with these.
• Pigeons - the two plump pigeons that perch above my veg garden on my Weeping Beech are out of reach so will probably have to stay beyond my currently limited capacity to deal with them. Similarly cabbage white butterflies, which I usually squash but this would involve bending, are off limits for me, but my wife is a good learner and she now discusses their treatment with me over dinner.

The butterfly, a Cabbage White ( his honest idiocy of flight ) Will never now it is too late, master the art of flying straight.

​Cooking. As someone who rarely has to cook, even though I can ( my wife loves cooking ) this is an opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen using the produce which my wife brings up from the garden. Red gooseberries ( Whinhams Industry ) and apple and Bourbon pie went down well. Japanese rice with cucumber, tomatoes, pickle and basil was another recipe I found and went well with the peanut butter chicken .

I hope these few observations not only help to keep the outdoors in your heart and soul but also to show how recovery can be a bit more inventive than the strict rules we are given when we first leave hospital, well meaning as they are. We do need to stay within the guidelines, we definitely must not bend beyond what we are are told by the physios, but with patience and care we can still keep in touch with the earth.

Colin welcomes hearing about other people's experiences and observation in similar situations.