People think adaptive gardening is just about adapting the gardening space or our gardening tools. But adaptive gardening is not just tools or gardening space. Adaptive gardening is also about adapting our mindset to moving our bodies differently so we protect our backs.

When you have the chance, I'd like you to watch a toddler as they walk around carrying something. 

Notice how the little girl hugs the bag close to her body. 

Now look at the difference when we hold something away from our body. This is considered a static load . A static load means we're working our arms and shoulders much harder than needed. We generally do this because it keeps our clothes clean or we're stretching to reach something.

When our arms and shoulders work that hard our back has to come in and help the arms and shoulders out. And I can tell you for sure, our backs don't like having to steady the arms and shoulders that much. Ouch!

So we end up with a backache.  Adapt your gardening behaviors to protect your back. Our backs are assistive to the rest of our body.

Follow the advice of a child and

• keep your arms in close to your body. 
• Hug the object you are picking up.
• If the bag of garden tools is too heavy, then either get a cart or take some of the tools or plants  out.
• If you are concerned about messing up your clothes, get a gardening apron or wear old clothes.

Play like a child in your garden and your back will thank you for it.

All in a gardener's day,

Thanks to Tricia Freshnell for the photo of the little girl carrying the bag and Sherrie Smith for the photo of the boy with the red ball.

Ever watched a child find something they like ? They look by skootching down close to the object they want. Their body is lined up straight with what they want to see and touch. 

The child moves their body in as close as possible to the object they want.

As adults we often move differently. When we want something, we often  bend over from the waist. 

We frequently don't line ourselves directly up with what we want to see or reach.

Our adult way of picking up things or bending over can lead to sore backs. Very sore backs and some serious back strain.

By bending over from the waist we put enormous stress and strain on our lower back. 

When we reach sideways, we're asking our backs to not only carry the weight of what we're picking up. We're also asking our back to stabilize, and hold our entire body weight from tipping over. 

If you think about it, our lower back muscles are small muscles. They aren't designed to hold up our entire body weight. Their job is to stabiize or hold our body  steady when standing.

In contrast look at your leg muscles. They are much bigger and stronger. That's because they are designed to move our body-up, down, and sideways.

Think about the last time your back ached. Was it one side of your back? You could be over reaching and stressing your back. 

Was it the middle or lower part of your back? You could be bending from the waist and not the knees.  It maybe time to rethink and redo the way you move in your garden.

So next time you're working or playing in your garden, remember to move like a child. Adaptive gardening is for everyone.

• Get down as close to the plants or flowers you are working on.
• Line yourself up with what you want to reach directly in front of you.
• Use your legs not your back to move your body.

If you are experiencing back pain, stop. Do not try to continue to work the "kinks" out. Pain is one way your body tells you to stop doing something. Listen to your body. Consulting with your health care provider can help prevent further injury to your back.

So move and play like a child. Adapt your gardening and protect your back.  Remember to play in your garden like a child does. Your back will thank you.

All in a gardener's day,

Thanks to sjones71  for the inspiration for the post. I'm working on more back tips. And thanks tor the use of the photos: to Anita Levesque for the photo of the child in the garden, to  Dominic Morel for the photo of the person bending over, and to Michal Koralewski for the photo of the woman picking flowers

My hibiscus is dying. Last two nights there's been an orgy on the patio with two of the neighborhood feral cats. First night the hibiscus was dumped over. The second night it looked as if the Hulk had sent the container rolling down the patio.  Now the hibiscus stands there in its container with leaves drooping.  I tried watering it to see if it would revive, but little luck so far.

Was looking at solutions to the cats on the patio. Some suggestions have been pepper spray and orange peels. Others suggest urine of coyotes and other such creatures.  Need to come up with some solution as the smell is quite strong out there.

If you have any ideas, please send them on.

Thanks.

All in a gardener's day,

Thanks for photo to Salssa

7/14 UPDATE: Robin's suggestion about the ecalyptus seemed to work (or the local cats are no longer in heat). The hibiscus is slowly starting to recover, but its flowers look to be over for this season. Again Robin thanks for the tip. Never received a call back from the feral cat group. Will try that resource again as well. Jan thanks for passing that tip on.