Sight-Impaired Gardeners..?

I don't have any visual impairments Mony, but I do have physiacal limitations and one or two mental issues I find gardening is great therapy, and just being outside is good for the soul Also the planning aspect - what shall I grow or improve next year - is very good for lifting the spirits, there's always something to look forward too!

Welcome to the Grapevine, by the way, the people on here are very uplifting too

Couldnt agree more! Gardening keeps me sane, literally.

No visual impairments for me either apart from the fact I have to wear glasses now and only since I was 50, if I had to loose anything sight would be the thing I fear the most. Anyone who is physicaly disabled gets the thumbs up from me especially if you have a hobby that interests you. Keep smiling cos you are among friends here.

Hi Mony,

Bit of a newbie here myself. I do not have a visual impairment but my hubby (David) does - he had a brain tumour so also has physical impairments. I use raised beds (dark green) and have used white pebbles around the beds for colour contrast. I grow most of the veg we eat, so the plants I have are mostly veg although I do have Sweet Peas (Everlasting and Annual) plus Marigolds. The issue I face with gardening is anything that David can walk into - support canes etc. Anything that protrudes at face height has to be protected. Would love to know about sensory impairment gardening myself. Have you checked out the RNIB? You have got me thinking (which is a rare thing!) I'm away to Google, will be back.

There was a chap on 'Grow your Own Veg' programme with Carol that was partially sighted....and he was a real inspiration....he seemed to get great crops and was a very prosperous gardener on his allotment...

He used cetain techniques to help him:

Measured pieces of wood to help plant out....
He knew that anything in between the set measurements was a weed and needed pulling
He worked raised beds so he knew just how much space he was working in and where.

It maybe on again sometime.

Good luck and best wishes

Hi Mony,

Did a quick Google. The RNIB and Thrive - The Horticultural Charity have teamed up to help visually impaired gardeners. There is a free magazine from Thrive - Thrive - The Horticultural Charity - Using gardening to change lives

I remember that too but thought that it was Gardeners World so was about to post a misleading post. Glad that you remembered correctly, he was a great bloke and had a very neat and well ordered, productive plot.

I think the same guy was featured in a gardening magazine a few years ago although he was actually blind I think, the really depressing thing for me was that his lottie was immaculate unlike mine !!

As to your question Mony, I don't have any visual impairment Apart from needing glasses but I would definitely agree with Danmo_81, go for raised beds but not shallow one - get some scaffold boards (I think they are about 10" wide) so they will be obvious and paint them a good bright colour ( My shed is sunflower I think which is about the same colour as colemans english mustard - I'll find a picture) and go for the no dig option just put a mulch on every year and you'll soon reach the top of the beds!!



Best I can find I'm afraid. If you want to grow veg (or flowers in rows for that matter) use the Tee shaped bed labels they are about 2foot long and have a nice large area to write on make it a bit easier for you. I agree with the comment about canes but as you won't be able to see them until it's too late, rather than go for the plastic cane tops get some cheapo tennis balls ( we buy the ones that are 6 for £1 for out dog as she destroys them after an hour or two Being large and fluorescent green you'll see them easier.

Another idea is to grow on raised beds that are about 4ft off the ground but that will involve a bit of bricklaying but then you won't have to bend over quite so much.

As to plants you have to have an arch or arbour where you can sit and drink your Gin & tonic in the late summer sun ( if we get any !!) and there you must have either Zepherine Droughin or the pale pink sport Katherin Harrop two beautiful climbing roses but both thorn less and a seldom seem clematis Clematis triternata rubromarginata (not sure if it's speeled rite ) - the name is bigger than the flowers But it has a vanilla perfume so will do you proud.

And finally Sarzwix - only one or two mental issues ... I thought we were all as mad as a badger on here

'Grow your own' is being repeated on UKTV gardens every night this week...9:30pm.
I think its episode 4 with the Blind chap in...

Wasnt He Amazing?
I havnt got any visual imparments mony but I am blonde

I would be quite intrested to know what you plant for smell and touch, I adore a good sensory space.

Should I be worried that having spent most of this week on the lottie in the sunshine my hair has become blonder????......

Maybe, the first symptoms are car keys in the fridge, followed by forgetting .... er ....somthing comes out of your mouth, makes a sound?

Hi Mony

I'm partially sighted in one eye. Retina scarred about 6 years ago when I found out I have a disease called Histoplasmosis confirmed by Moorfields. Means I only have peripheral vision in that eye and the closer to the injury everything is all wobbled. Means it's a strain on my right eye to cope with the one in the left. Scary though that this disease is a hibernator and there is a possibility in the future it will attack the other eye. I just pray it stays asleep.

I am by no way as impaired as you are but I have to admit that a straight line doesn't truly exist for me so my sowing is always wobbly. I have a problem with distances as well as two eyes of a similar capacity are used by the human brain to judge a distance. Which is the reason I had to give up a sport called showjumping. It means I can miss my glass with a wine bottle so adapt to resting the bottle on the glass and as for missing my mouth that gets worse the more I drink

My sister made a film a couple of years ago called Recovering Lives: Mental Health, Gardening and the Arts. She said in a press release; "There is great value in activities such as gardening and the arts for people with severe and enduring mental health problems," ... "Not only in therapeutic terms, but in helping them integrate into their communities and challenge stigmatising attitudes to mental ill health. Some of the projects we have looked at operate gardens right in the heart of the community in which people work positively for well-being."

Where I used to live, there was a beautiful community garden for people with impaired vision that was incredibly fragrant with contrasting colours as mentioned above; lots of herbs and things. Really peaceful place!