April is National Garden Month. Depending on where you live in the country, April can be a great time to get out and start a garden (for some who live in colder climates, it’s often best to wait until May).
Gardening is a wonderfully therapeutic activity. There is something very gratifying about planting, tending, and growing your own plants, flowers, and vegetables. Gardening can lower levels of stress and reduce anxious feelings, creating a sense of calm and purpose as a person focuses on each plant. Then there are the physical benefits of being active and getting outside into the fresh air. An in-home care aide can help with the process.
So, whether you and your loved one are looking at starting a simple herb garden on the balcony, or a small patch of flowers in a corner of the backyard, April is the month to at least start planning, even if you can’t start planting quite yet.
First, make a plan. Talk to your aging loved one about what kind of garden they’d like. Are they looking to grow items to eat, brighten up an area of the yard, or create a place where pollinators will visit and thrive? If they’re not sure, their in-home care provider can bring them to a local nursery to speak with the professionals there about what plants are best in their area.
Next, determine how much work the garden will be. Creating a large garden with a dozen different vegetables may seem wonderful, but does your loved one have the ability to keep up with it and maintain it? You can have family, friends or even their in-home care provider help occasionally might be one way to help them manage it, but it might be better to start small and grow into a larger garden area. A small herb garden or an assortment of potted plants on the porch might be a great beginning spot. People can often be surprised about how much work a garden can be.
Once you and your loved one know what they want to try, it’s time to get started. Determine if they want to begin their garden with seeds or seedlings. Both have their benefits. Now is the time to purchase any tools your loved one might need to garden such as hoes and rakes, hoses, and watering cans. If your loved one is planning a larger, inground garden, they might need a garden chair or kneeling pad to help with pulling weeds. You might also want to talk to their in-home care providers about having them help with pulling weeds and watering during their visits if those tasks are a bit too strenuous for your loved one.
April is a great month to plan and dream about a summer garden and get those first steps taken. Then when May and the rest of the summer come along, your loved one can watch their garden grow and flourish right before their eyes.
If you or an aging loved one is considering In-Home Care Services in Bridgewater NJ please contact the caring staff at Expert Home Care today at (732) 937-5320.
We have been providing Home Health Care to New Jersey families since 1985, and have grown to become one of the largest licensed providers of Live-In Home Care in the upper New Jersey area. Our many years of New Jersey home care experience has produced a company that over 8,000 clients have come to rely on confidently, for help.
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