Outdoor spaces are just as important as indoor spaces, but for many people, the idea of landscaping is synonymous with expense and hard work. If you’re in the senior age bracket, you may dread the idea of gardening due to the aches and pains it can bring to the wallet and body. However, there are numerous landscaping and gardening options and methods that are both budget-friendly and low-maintenance. To get started, try out these tips, and you may find yourself refreshed and enjoying a beautiful outdoor space!

Modify Gardening and Landscaping to Meet Your Needs

Gardening and landscaping is an activity that can be modified to your needs. If you live in a living space that doesn’t come with a yard, pots, recycled cans, windowsills, and other containers can be used to grow your plants. If you have physical limitations, you can purchase cost-efficient, accessible, and adaptive tools to assist you with your work, such as a garden cart, knee pads, stools, and drip irrigation systems.

Be sure to search for the right deals on supplies online. You can easily find savings by using an ebay coupon today. For the gardening and landscaping tasks that are too physically demanding, consider hiring someone to assist you, which may save you money in the long run by preventing you from having to purchase and repair expensive equipment.

Use Local Plants and Flowers

Local plants and flowers will require the least maintenance and watering because the plants naturally grow in your region, have adapted to your climate and soil, and will not overpower other plants and flowers. Another perk of using local plants and flowers is that they are certain to be in abundance in your region and fairly priced since they don’t require importing and extra care. Additionally, if you use local perennials (plants that live more than two years), you eliminate both the work of planting annuals and the cost of replacing the plant or flowers because they will regrow at the same time each year.

Choose Low Maintenance and Less Watering Options

In addition to modifying your gardening and using local plants and flowers, you can also implement other tricks and techniques to keep maintenance and watering from becoming tedious and backbreaking. Various gardening centers sell containers you can fill with water and place in the dirt to keep plants and flowers watered for weeks without requiring you to lug the watering can around every day. You can also purchase a drip irrigation system or low-cost container, and if you’re in a DIY mood, you can take a recycled two-liter bottle with punctured holes and bury the bottle into the dirt, with just the top exposed, to achieve the same goal. If cost is a concern, landscaping is the hobby for you because it allows you to recycle what you have and work with what is local and available.

The Physical and Mental Benefits of Gardening

While it can be helpful to limit the amount of maintenance gardening and landscaping require, gardening itself provides numerous physical and mental health benefits. It’s a low-impact exercise that is beneficial to muscle growth, flexibility, improvement of fine motor skills, and heart health, all the while allowing you to be outdoors soaking up much-needed vitamin D.

A little gardening can also help reduce your medical bills by helping you control your weight and avoid “conditions like high blood pressure and other cardiac issues, colon cancer, depression, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes and even premature death.” If you need modified exercise due to injury or pain, you can utilize certain tricks that reduce or eliminate aches and pains, such as vertical plants (e.g., tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans) and raised planter beds. 

Landscaping and gardening are cost-effective hobbies that provide both physical and mental health benefits and have the added result of making your outdoor living space beautiful. As a senior who may be facing physical limitations, gardening and landscaping can be modified to meet your needs with adaptable and accessible tricks of the trade. The icing on the cake is that this outdoor recreation can be cost-effective by both utilizing local plants and using some creativity with some smart DIY tasks.

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