The Lifelong Gardener: Garden with Ease and Joy at Any Age

I particularly liked the joyfulness of the author, Toni Gattone. This book was written by a REAL gardener and has great tips for people who love gardening! Tips such as the right way to install pathways so that they will be accessible for those of all ages and abilities. I hadn't thought of doing a winding path instead of steps down a slope so that it would be usable for someone using a wheelchair, walker, or even a stroller. I also liked her real life interviews with people who had loved gardening but didn't want to give it up after life changing medical issues. The chapter, "Your Tools" included how to buy ones that are proven garden tools with pictures and names of the tools.This is a book I will recommend and buy for my gardening friends!

I love this book - it has such great advice, stories, tips and photos. You don't need to be a "mature" gardener to buy it - why strain muscles and be sore after gardening at ANY age if you don't have to?! It's not just about that - Toni offers great garden tips in general as well. She obviously LOVES gardening and it's really inspiring to read about her ideas and experience. This would make a great gift for any gardener - it's a really special book.

Nicely done book that offers good ideas on how to keep going as our bodies age. Pace yourself, ask for help, and work smarter are all things I need to work on. The book offers real people, in real gardens and how they manage their gardens.

My mom has been gardening her whole life - I didn't think I could buy her a book that taught her anything she didn't know. But I have to say, in just 3 weeks, she is loving this book and driving my dad crazy to buy her new things to make gardening easier for her. I am really happy to have found this book!

The Lifelong Gardener is a visual treat full of sage (pun intended) gardening tips. It's also so much more than that. The adaptive approach to gardening provides practical advice to make gardening easier and more enjoyable. The tips are intermingled with inspirational ideas on how to live your life with joy and grace. Whether you are an avid gardener, a balcony gardener or a 'wannabe' gardener, this book is a treasure. You will feel uplifted just paging through it.

I bought this for my grandma for Christmas and the content itself is great. She was very excited. Unfortunately there is a page missing and the window has closed for returns since I bought it in advance... other than that, she is enjoying it and is excited to apply what she learns once winter passes.

Info all in one book which we need!

As a small-space vegetable gardening teacher, writer and speaker, I initially got The Lifelong Gardener to help me learn how to better serve my clients and students who have mobility issues. I knew it would also help in my capacity as a volunteer with a non-profit called Gardens for Heroes. However, as an aging gardener who took a bad tumble a couple of years ago, and now has trauma-induced osteoarthritis, I was truly surprised how helpful it was to me personally!In the first section, You and Your Body, author and adaptive gardening guru Toni Gattone encourages readers to take a proactive stance and do an honest evaluation of their current abilities and to think about what their future abilities might be. Readers consider what chores they are still able to do, how to modify the activities they can’t, or do certain exercises to help them continue to do as much as possible for as long as possible.Toni starts with what she calls the Daily “Be” Attitudes and says, “The older I get, the more I find simply being serves me better than obsessing about doing.” Her message from the very beginning is to be realistic, optimistic and proactive. She reminds us that, since we can’t necessarily change our physical limitations, “The single most important thing you can do is to adjust your attitude.” Amen!We’re not just left with a better attitude, but also with a series of proactive steps to make the best of our current and future abilities. This may be by downsizing or simplifying our gardens, modifying necessary or eliminating unnecessary chores, or . . . gasp . . . asking for help. She presents these steps with a series of easy-to-follow checklists scattered throughout the book. There’s also a section of Dynamic Vitality Exercises for Gardeners by Dr. Suki Munsell, which may help readers improve their physical health and extend their number of good gardening years.In the second section, Your Garden, you take your honest evaluation from the first section and learn how to simplify your garden to suit your changing needs with even more practical steps, again in checklist form. Toni covers a multitude of modifications you can make for a safer garden such as hardscaping, ramps, handrails and fencing along with ways to make chores simpler by utilizing drip irrigation systems and low-maintenance plant selections. Readers are encouraged to create a few seating areas in the shade so they remember to take frequent breaks.Section three, Your Tools, teaches us about the importance of ergonomic tools. Not only does she share resources for light-weight, ergonomic and long-handled tools, she shows us how to easily modify our existing favorites to make them more comfortable. One of my favorite DIY hints from this section is to take a length of PVC pipe so that you can stand to plant bulbs or seeds on the ground.Toni includes an Adaptive Gardening Action Plan in the back of the book where you can assess your abilities and how to step-by-step, devise a plan to modify your existing garden as needed. She gives you space to write in which of your current tools you can modify yourself or create your shopping wish list for new tools.So, who is this book for? Of course older adults, or those of us who will eventually get old (Do you see what I did there?). But this book is also great for caregivers who may be taking care of aging parents or a spouse with mobility issues to make quick work of their gardening chores and provide a safer environment for their loved ones.Kim RomanSquare Foot Gardening 4 U