Enjoy your garden well into your retirement

Many people cannot wait for the time when they are no longer tied to the nine to five routine and look forward to spending more time in the garden. The problem is that as we get older we sometimes are less able to tackle some of the more strenuous tasks that gardening requires so how can we make our gardens easier to maintain?

Simple raised beds can be built to do away with the need to knee down when planting. They can be constructed using readily available wooden pallets which can often be sourced for little if no cost. The pallets will need to be deconstructed which can be hard work but then the wood can be arranged and screwed together to make a raised bed. By lining the bed with polythene and treating the wood with a preservative it will help to retain moisture and will also protect the wood from rotting.

Another way that garden maintenance can be made easier is by covering large areas of soil with weed matting and forest bark or gravel. Shrubs can be planted in the ground to add interest to the area and once established will look impressive without the need to weed the bed regularly.