THE DISABLED GARDENER 'There's Always A Way To Grow Your own'

Andrew Oldham uses his disability to inspire his garden and explains how you can too

Being disabled made me a gardener in my late twenties. It was my consultant who said the best therapy after my accident was to grow my own. Over 15 years I have had to learn how to adapt to gardening with a disability, from growing in a small cottage garden to taking on a quarter acre on the Pennines. It seems the most unlikely place for someone to recuperate with a long-term disability, but without my garden I would have sunk into a dark place.

I, like many disabled gardeners, live for their gardens. My disability started a new life and a new way of thinking. After my accident I first started to grow herbs on windowsills, then flowers in pots by the front door. I selected places I could sit comfortably with planters at a level I could work at. That’s the key for growing your own; no matter whether you’re disabled or not, make a space that’s suitable for you. There are a few things to remember though before you jump in and start that new garden.

A GARDEN THAT SUITS YOU

First, don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do what you set out to do all in one day, you are not on a garden makeover show. The great thing about gardens is they are still there whether you’re in them or not. My disability meant that my garden became a no-go area in winter and weeds depressingly took over. The problem was if I fell on icy grass, sludgy mud or mossy paths, I’d be back in hospital.