Low energy gardening - Post 1 - Getting comfortable

Recently I've not been so well, what surprised me the most was the lack of energy that came with this. The lack of energy and the speed at which energy evaporates when it's being used. So I thought I'd do a few posts about gardening with low energy. These posts are based on my own experience and are things that I've found helpful - perhaps you may find them helpful too. I'd appreciate any comments, especially if you're in a situation where energy, or the lack of, can be an issue.

In this, the first, of the posts about gardening with low energy, I thought I'd talk about ensuring that you're comfortable. There's nothing worse than finally having some energy to do something that you're really going to enjoy to find that your knees start to ache, your back starts to hurt, your feet start to throb, etc after just a few minutes.

Firstly, I found that wearing more than I would have expected to wear was a great first step. While you may be doing something that really gets your heart pumping and gets you sweating, you also may be in the same position for quite a while weeding or pruning. Therefore, wearing more is much better than being uncomfortable with cold, knowing that if you spend your energy getting another jumper - you're not going to have the energy to get back outside and carry on. It's much easier to take your hat, gloves, 4th layer of jumper off if you get too warm.

Also surprisingly, you may need your sunglasses too - the sun may be too bright in the summer, but it can also be at an awkward angle during the winter. So while it may not be as bright as summer, it may still be in your eyes. Of course, you'll know what will make you comfortable - but it took me a few attempts to realise that things that I needed to take outside with me. One of the things I eventually realised was that it was better for me to wear walking boots, because they provided much better insulation during the winter months than my trainers. This wasn't something I'd thought of before - but then I hadn't been sat for ages pruning before either!


Secondly, make sure that you have a range of seating available to you. I now have three different options. The camping stool for when I'm going to be 'quick' - it's also very light, which is great if I'm going out for a wander.

I also have the more solid garden seat, which can be turned the other way around and used as a kneeler. I was using this just yesterday when I was watching ladybirds in our Willow hedge. It really allows you to sit there in comfort and enjoy your surroundings. The great thing about this is that it's comfortable for extended periods, the metal legs can be used to help you get up, and it folds away! What more could you ask for? What more indeed!

Well actually sometimes you need to kneel just for a short period, or you just need to be that bit closer to the ground to get at the pesky weeds. Well for that job is the fantastic mat below. It's really good for the price (no more than a couple of £) and is light as a feather. The hold for hanging it up comes in handy too. This one is also handy for when I'm trying to take photographs of my invertebrate friends, because the darn things move and I can be on my knees for a few minutes trying to get a good enough picture for the blog!

Have a look online or in your local DIY-type stores, I hadn't noticed these things until I needed them and now they're everywhere! I managed to get the garden stool/kneeler from Aldi, a place we don't normally shop - so it's worth having a look wherever you go! While these things won't cure you, they can help you enjoy gardening and help you to last a bit longer when you have the energy to get outside and do a bit.

The next post along this theme will be about the tools we can use to make things a bit easier.