Rob Sleight tells us about his life as a disabled gardener – and why planting and growing vegetables is good for his physical and mental health.
Let’s face it, when you have quite a serious disability that includes mobility impairments it limits a lot of things that you can do with your time. I used to love reading books, playing with Lego, videogames and building models. Those days are gone but with technology I can do most of those things again albeit in the virtual world.
That is all well and good but to spend most of one’s life in front of a computer is just not good for you both mentally and physically. Sometimes I just want to get out there with the sun in my face and enjoy some time in nature.
Even though I have this disability I have discovered a love of gardening. I know that I cannot physically garden but I can choose my plants and sit back and watch nature do its job. The added bonus of this for me is that I really like planting and then eventually eating the literal fruits and vegetables of my labour.
You too can enjoy all of this and I intend to show you how. All you need is a plan, a friend and a little bit of time and patience. So, I invite you to join me in what I hope will be an ongoing series explaining how I garden with a disability.