Gardening for the Disadvantaged

 

 

Gardening for the Disadvantaged

I was just settin' out there on my balcony wonderin' what I might blog about this week. Watchin' the old folks up on the rooftop over the pool doin' their gardenin' (an socializin') gave me an idea. Well that's how our complex is. I can look down from our third floor apartment an' see what's goin on. There's some forty plots, four feet wide by eight feet long in boxes three feet high and they're given out by lottery every spring. Not surprisingly, the boxes are all spoken for an' all planted too.

It's pleasant to sit an' watch all the activity goin' on down there. Old people, young people, little ones takin' turns runnin' around on the roof top and helpin' mommy or daddy or even grandma water the plants. It's like an all day garden party, what with the comin's an' goin's of the people. The thing is, they all gotta inspect every plot on the rooftop before they get to their own little acre. If that's not enough, they gotta point out an' comment on every plant.

But that's not the best part. The other day two oldsters come out the door, hand in hand, teeterin' down the ramp. Slowly, they go through the whole ritual, he with is cane an' she with an arm brace type cane. Finally, they came to their own plot, done some putterin' an' then struggled slowly back up the ramp. I was worried they wasn't gonna make it, but they finally did an' disappeared into the buildin'. Then I see a relatively young man in one o' them electric scooters, in fact two different guys workin' in their plots. They was able to pull up along one side an' do whatever to their gardens, then scoot over to the other side an' work it from there.

Them plots is just high enough that they can do what's necessary right from their chair an' narrow enough that they can work a whole half the plot before goin' to the other side to do the same. The thing is that nobody's got to get on their hands an knees to weed the gardens, so anybody can do it either standin' up or sittin' down without getting' a back ache or crawlin' around without bein' able to get up again. I'll tell ya, every seniors livin' place every care home an every apartment block should have these garden plots for their tenants. They provide an alternative activity that gets people outside, gives them some fresh air an' pleasure, no matter what their ability is or their physical condition. At least that's how it seems to me from up here on the top shelf.

Just sayin'.