Why gardening is good for everyone
AG reader Elizabeth praises her disabled gardener son
WE have all heard the theory that gardening is good for our mental and physical wellbeing, but one longstanding AG reader knows it to be true.
Elizabeth Brown contacted us about her adult son Graham, who has not let his mental and physical disabilities stop him from becoming a keen gardener.
Graham is registered blind and deaf and also suffers from the developmental disorder Dyspraxia, which affects physical coordination, but this has not stopped him creating a beautiful garden for his widowed mum.
Elizabeth said: “I have always loved gardening, and although I am not one for making very perfect gardens, I always make sure soil and plants are healthy.
“Now I am teaching Graham, and he is doing very well. I am currently teaching him about looking after the roses now, as I have always loved them.
“Graham only picks the plants that he likes. When we stand in the queue in Sainsbury’s he looks at the plants for sale and brings me one for to buy for the garden. He also grows plants from the free seeds we get with Amateur Gardening.”
Graham, who is 32, said: “I just love gardening and watching plants grow.
I enjoy cutting grass, but I never cut it too short because when the sun comes out and it gets very hot, it makes it go all brown and dry.
“Because I do this, my lawn is the only one green as everyone else cuts it very short!”
Elizabeth has also taught Graham how to use a camera and we have used his photographs on this page.
As well as having problems with vision and hearing, Graham also has mobility issues.
Elizabeth added: “He gets down on his hands and knees to trim the grass, which is painful for him, and his hands can hardly hold the cutters, but he does it.
“I showed him how to make the lawns look good, even in a heat wave, and to feed the grass and not cut it too short in case the sun gets to the roots and damages it all.”
She said: “I am so proud of what he has done. Of course, the future is a worry, but people need to understand that those with disabilities are as valuable as everyone else. “They should not be treated as nothing and as though they have no purpose, as anyone in the slightest bit disabled is born for a purpose and has something to offer to the world, too.”
Has gardening helped you or someone you know combat a disability? Tell us your story by emailing Ruth at ruth.hayes@futurenet.com.
“I love gardening and watching plants grow”