Gardening and Aging

I want to bring up a topic that may be difficult but needs to be addressed. Throughout my gardening career, I've witnessed the decline and subsequent loss of amazing collections of plants when the caretaker is no longer physically able.

In our current society, people usually start gardening in middle age or at retirement. And, at maximum, we may have a half-century of prime gardening years. Young gardeners usually begin with gusto, ambitiously planting numerous flower beds... ever-expanding through the years until we are finally "forced" to slow down. This slowing down can be gradual or abrupt, but it rarely ends pretty. We may think we are planning for our "old" age, but we typically aren't great at tying up loose ends when it comes to gardening, or any other aspect of our lives, for that matter...

Active or physical gardening helps slow the effects of aging. When our bodies are moving, digging holes, and crawling under shrubs to pull weeds, we are working muscles and helping retain strength and remain mobile. Yet no matter how much we exercise and take care of ourselves, we can never escape the inevitable "slowing down" of old age. Therefore, I feel it is important for us to create a plan for our landscapes that factors in this reality.

I'm not going to get into all the actions you can do to prepare for old age, but I do want to elaborate on something that means a lot to me. All our lives we should be nurturing the practice of sharing. I stress sharing for numerous reasons. First, when we've accumulated a collection of plants, no matter how "common" they are, it is in our best interest, and the interest of the plant, to share them. We gain so much through sharing. We feel the psychological boost of giving, and we are helping foster a love of horticulture in others. The great joy of gardening shouldn't just be rooted in the escapism and physical work, but rather, in the passing down of knowledge and plants to our friends and family. Now don't get me wrong, I certainly can get lost in the pleasures of working alone in my garden, but I get an equal high from propagating and sharing.

When you grow, propagate, and share your plants, you are also an important "preserver" of life. You may also be a creator of "new" life if you grow seeds and make crosses. Because of your actions, you may be responsible for setting evolution on a novel course! Isn't it amazing that we have the ability to shape or preserve a lifeform for many generations to come?

The great tragedy is that many amazing horticultural collections slip away into oblivion when the gardener ages and ultimately dies. Yet, if we, throughout our lives, give away our plants, we will at the very least create a pathway for that plant to continue existing.

Why am I always harping on this issue? Shouldn't I just accept the inevitability of loss and practice the art of "letting go"? It irks me because if we share our love of plants, both by the sharing of actual plants and by opening up our gardens to visitors, we can create a renaissance in horticulture. We are in desperate need to revitalize our communities and to re-build connections between ourselves. And I firmly believe that one way we can accomplish this is through sharing. By making our gardens visible and open, and cultivating a life-long practice of "scattering", both our seeds and our enthusiasm, we will enhance our world in innumerable ways.

Images: A Woman Walking in a Garden by Vincent van Gogh

Wikicommons "Plant Sharing"