ingenious solution!!

[hamsterqueen]

I have had an operation on my foot and am pretty much immobile, especially as my garden has steep stone steps, lethal on crutches.

My husband is not a gardener but has hit upon a cunning plan

He will take photographs of the veg beds with a digital camera, bring them in to show me, I will tell him what needs doing and he will beetle off and do it

Brilliant

I'll keep you posted!

[Flobalob]

Gives a new meaning to 'home produce'.

[Snadger]

Armchair gardening eh! Good for you.....and keep resting the foot!

[shirlthegirl43]

Hope you are up and about soon - how long are you 'due' to be out of action?

[Maximillian]

Omg that's inspired! I might pretend to do my back in or something and get my OH to do the weeding! It's our 20th wedding anniversary this week and it could be my present! Seriously tho, hope you heal quick so you can enjoy your planting.

[Florence Fennel]

Hope you're soon better hamsterqueen, it must be very frustrating for you. I hope I'm never in that position - my husband thinks he's done all the gardening if I ask him to open the blowaway greenhouse when I am at work, he would be mortified if he had to do any more than that! Bless him. Not.

[Edwardo82]

Thats a lovely arrangement you both have there, good work

[Storming Norman]

Oh God I love your husband - was it his idea?

I had a foot op 18 months ago - winter thank goodness - and was off that foot for months. I had an office chair with wheels on that I scooted/wheeled around the house on - much faster that crutches [which are dodgy at best], and I found the equivalent tatty one for the patio. I know the NHS doesn't like them but you can buy 'grip in the armpit' crutches from disability shops and they are much safer and easier to use in the garden, but don't lean them into your armpits as you can cut off the blood flow and do damage. I took a tour of the garden each day - very very slowly at first. I even found a way to do the steps after a while, dragging and dropping a kitchen chair as I went so I could sit, rest, and bend down to work - you can't do that with elbow crutches.

I thought a lot about what I would do with the garden when I had mobility and it gave me a great boost to be able to do it [with help] some months later.

I will never have full & complete use of the foot again, and cannot do all I could before, but you would never know. My garden has been a reward for patience and a godsend, and a way back to fitness.

Did they make you 'jump' up and down the stairs on your crutches? How scary is that first time...

Ann

[snohare]

I was going to make a lame joke there about you having a negative view of your hubby's gardening, but frankly it sounds like you are going to be focussing on exactly what needs doing. Great idea, now you have an apprentice !

[irisgirl]

You know, that same technique could work with household chores too!

[hamsterqueen]

I am thinking that too iris girl!

Stairs and crutches are too scary I now have a routine involvong banisters, dado rail and a strategically placed chair!

I hope to be in a load bearing plaster by the end of the week so I'll try the chair in the garden trick.

Veggie gardeners are resourceful people!

[solway cropper]

That's a good arrangement. If i showed photos of the veg plot to my OH it would have the same effect as her showing photos of piles of ironing to me.

[SarzWix]

Hamsterqueen, you have my heartfelt sympathies. I've been on crutches for over 6 months now after breaking my ankle twice (don't ask ). THE most frustrating thing is, even though you can get yourself around fine after a little while, you can't carry anything that won't fit in a backpack! Watering cans and cups of tea are the most annoying
The stairs get easier as you get a bit more confidence, I started off going up ours backwards, sitting down until I felt confident enough to 'hop' up.

Sounds like you've got a good system going for getting the gardening done, that really is a clever idea Wish I'd thought of it! Although, I've found instructions can be open to misinterpretation - I set the OH on planting out 30 celery plants yesterday, saying "they need to be planted in a block to help exclude light from the stalks when they get bigger" So off he goes. I hobble over latrer to see how he's getting on, and he's planted them out in 2 rows of 15... Aaaarrrrgh!!

Good luck with it hon, and feel free to PM me if you need a good old moan.

[hamsterqueen]

Thank you all for your kind messages, I am seeing surgeon tonight so I hope I will be more mobile very soon!

SIX MONTHS Sarzwiz, I am bored stiff (and have a numb bum)after 4 days! You have my heartfelt sympathy

[SarzWix]

Yeah, the numb bum isn't great But it gets better after you develop a bit of extra cushioning from the lack of exercise....


Edited to add; I'm just going to move this thread to the Chat board, so you can keep us updated with how you're getting on