No matter your stage in life, circumstances, abilities, skills, or physical limitations, there are ways to enjoy gardening. Accessible gardening is all about finding ways to make growing food and ornamentals more available for everyone.
The benefits of getting your hands dirty growing houseplants, flowers, and vegetables are enormous. No one should miss out on the positives that gardening provides. From food to improved mental health, playing in the dirt is good for you in so many ways.
With some planning and a little determination, anyone can have a garden space that is accessible and welcoming to all.
The 5 M’s of Accessible Garden Planning
Gardening can have a significant impact on your health. Just imagine the havoc you can wreak on your back and neck if you’re hunched over in the wrong position for hours every day.
Now imagine the health benefits of homegrown food and being out in the sun while birds chirp and butterflies flit around. There are even studies that show that working in the dirt can improve both physical and mental health.
Before breaking ground, it’s worth considering your vision, needs, and space and sketch it out. Brainstorming how you’ll achieve your ultimate goal is a key part of accessible gardening.
Here, we’ve created the 5 M’s to help you with key considerations when planning your outdoor and indoor gardening spaces.
1. Movement
Movement into, around, and from a garden or growing space is one of the most important considerations for accessible gardening. No matter what mobility the user has, being able to work the gardens, plant, harvest, and enjoy the area is a priority.
Mobility-wise, it’s vital to ensure that areas, shelving, or equipment can be easily accessed. If someone in a wheelchair can’t fit their equipment in the space, they can’t garden.
It’s not just about the distance between the beds, but height, width, and even the color of them. Someone with a visual impairment might need brightly colored raised beds to help them identify and move around their gardens.
You also need to consider the flow of the space. It’s much more difficult for some on a scooter or in a wheelchair to work in a U-shaped bed than one that is open on both ends. Even better if the beds are open below, as well.
2. Measurements
Measurements are not only about the space and capacity of each garden but also outlining the paths, beds, seating, bed heights, and overall square footage.
A bed that is five feet deep and three feet tall will be difficult to work in for someone with mobility issues unless you can access both sides of the bed.
If unsure, advice and ideas for pathways and measurements required for disabilities can be found through the Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines.
3. Materials
Materials are often overlooked when considering accessibility. But if you have a visual impairment and use your sense of touch to navigate your raised beds or containers, then a rough wood prone to splintering won’t work.
Someone with physical limitations might not be able to maintain materials like raw wood that might require regular painting or staining. In that case, something long-lasting like metal or cement might be better.
The same goes for the material of the pathways. A rugged, rocky path isn’t going to work for a mobility scooter. A bark path that blends in with the surrounding soil isn’t ideal for someone with visual impairment.
If you’re struggling with costs, ask neighbors, friends, family and visit local businesses to gather cheap or free materials that would otherwise be disposed of, like pallets or metal.
People often advertise materials they need to get rid of on social media sites, so keep an eye on Facebook or Craigslist posts in your area.
Working with a budget and trying to achieve it by upcycling can maximize the sense of accomplishment and reward. Get creative.
4. Motivation
When thinking about what to grow, it helps to focus on your motivation. Will the main focus of your garden be providing food? Are you looking to create beauty to improve your home’s value and appearance? Keep that in mind when creating accessible gardening.
Remember to observe sun and shade in your proposed area and plan your planting to work with what you see. Some plants aren’t shade-loving, and some require more cover, but at the end of the day, growing is an experiment, and changes can be made to what you grow as you go.
One of the great things about this process and growing anything is the way areas evolve in time and knowledge builds by getting our hands dirty.
5. Maintenance
We sometimes forget about how much maintenance our gardens require as we are building them. It’s exciting to lay out the beds and start picking out your plants, but come summer, when the weeds are thriving, and the pruning is non-stop, the real work begins.
It’s not just weeding and pruning that needs tending to. Here is a list to help you work through the management of time, effort, and factors that will require maintenance of some sort:
- Water needs
- Propagation
- Staking and supporting
- Feeding
- Plant type
- Harvesting flowers and vegetables
- Succession planting
- Weather
- Seasonal changes
- Weed control
- Pest control
- Disease control
Don’t take on more than you can handle. It’s usually better to start a little smaller than you want so you can see if the required maintenance is feasible for you. If you have no trouble keeping up, go ahead and add more growing areas.
10 Accessible Garden Options
Taking the five M factors into consideration, now it’s time to work out what type of gardens will suit your needs.
Depending upon the area you have available and your needs, a combination of these can be utilized to maximum effect.
1. Raised Beds
Raised beds can be made to any shape and size. You can form them in lines, L or U shapes, or rows. You can create wheelchair-friendly shapes and wide aisles between the beds, or paint the beds in bright colors for those who are visually impaired.
Generally, they can be made out of anything. Reclaimed wood, wood pallets, metal, brick, or stone are all common choices. But less conventional bathtubs, old barrels, and water troughs work well, too. Let your imagination run.
Keep accessibility in mind. A tall bed works well for someone with a bad back or visual challenges, while a mid-height bed is better for someone in a wheelchair. A low bed is ideal for amputees or those who prefer to garden at a kneel.
That’s why raised beds are a classic option for accessible gardening.
Plant-wise, there are few limitations to what you can grow this way.
2. Borders
Existing border gardens can be renovated and adapted, or you can start fresh. Accessible border gardens should be an arm’s reach in width so all areas are easily reachable.
You can also create a garden on the border surrounding a center of perennials that don’t need much or any maintenance. That way, the fruits, veggies, herbs, or medicines that you’re growing are right within reach.
If borders are well established and you want to retain some plants, consider interplanting. Put in some veggies among those roses or put herbs next to your boxwoods, for instance.
Companion planting can work for both new and older plants. Learn more in our companion planting guide.
3. Pots
Growing in containers lets you keep your plants in an accessible area, whether indoors or out. As long as you place the pots in a way that doesn’t risk incidents and collisions, and that has appropriate light, you can pretty much put your pots anywhere you want.
If you want to raise the height of the pot to make it easier to access, you can use shelves or benches. Or, you can even hang your plants from the ceiling or a patio so they’re right within reach. Accessible gardening is all about making things easy to reach and work with.
To give you an idea, here’s a list of plants that suit pots:
- Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Herbs with shallow roots: thyme, parsley, basil, coriander, tarragon, mint
- Strawberries
- Lettuce
- Succulents
- Sugar snap peas
- Pansies
- Alyssum
- Geraniums
- Lilies
- Daffodils
- Irises
4. Going Vertical
Limited space or limited mobility might require access at a higher level. If so, vertical growing could be the solution. Vertical gardens are easy to access for those with bad backs or those in wheelchairs.
Many plants benefit from growing onto a structure, keeping them off the ground. But even plants traditionally grown in the ground can adapt to vertical growing and accessible gardening.
Some vertical-loving plants are:
- Beans
- Pumpkins
- Cucumbers
- Squash
- Peas
- Grapes
- Kiwis
- Wisteria
- Trumpet Vine
- Black Eyed Susan Vine
- Purple Hyacinth Bean
- Moonflower
- Clematis
- Creeping Phlox
- Roses
Visit our guide for a list of additional plants and how to grow them vertically.
5. Container Gardening
Container gardening is similar to growing in pots or raised beds, but uses larger objects or numerous ones in a frame. That way, you can grow things like trees, berry bushes, or other large plants that wouldn’t fit into a raised bed or smaller container.
Old sinks, large buckets, large barrels, stock tanks, and other containers can all be used. It is an ideal form of growing if there is room and if you want to reuse old equipment. It can add gardening space to your yard or make your garden easier to access.
Container growing, as a rule, offers more root space for larger specimens of plant such as:
- Dwarf Citrus Trees
- Dwarf Apple Trees
- Olive Trees
- Large shrubs
- Rosemary
- Zucchini
- Lavender
- Blueberry
- Raspberry
- Loganberry
- Dahlias
- Zinnias
- Roses
- Cactus
- Eucalyptus
- Hibiscus
6. Elevated Gardens
Elevated gardens can consist of any materials built into a structure, which means it can be set at the best height for the gardener. Perfect for accessible gardening. Less bending allows for close work for those with mobility scooters or wheelchairs, or visual impairment.
A simple way of growing elevated style is drainage pipes running along a wall or bench to grow strawberries or herbs. Or you can stack bottles or even construct a shelf that can be raised and lowered.
A consideration here is the space requirements for root formation. Plants with extensive roots don’t do well in the limited space that elevated gardening offers.
Elevating gardens also gives the gardener the ability to grow vine-type plants downwards, making them a cinch to reach.
- Mini cucumbers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Beans
- Spinach
- Catmint
- Peas
- Strawberries
- Grapes
- Nasturtium
- Trailing herbs; Mint, Lemon Balm, Thyme, Rosemary
- Sweet Peas
- Lobelia
- String of Pearls
- Cactus
- Succulents
- Ivy
7. Hanging Gardens
Hanging gardens follow the same principles as elevated gardening, only here we are referring to hanging baskets and other hanging set-ups, which can be hooked onto posts, gates, arches, or benches.
Hanging baskets are customarily used to grow flowers, but they’re ideal for small spaces for some vegetables and fruits as well.
The important thing to remember with accessible gardening when setting up your plants this way is how easy they are to reach when maintaining and harvesting. Here are a few good species for growing:
- Nasturtiums
- Short snapdragons
- Phlox
- Violets
- Begonias
- Petunias
- Fushias
- Lobelia
- Tomatoes
- Eggplant
- Cucumbers
- Peppers
- Strawberries
8. Windowsill Gardens
This type of gardening is ideal whether you’re growing the plants inside or out (or both). It maximizes space and is typically positioned at the perfect height for those with limited mobility and movement.
If a greenhouse or cold frame is out of the question, growing inside your windows is a perfect option. It brightens up the home with live plants and gives you access to fresh food. It’s perfect for those limited to indoor activities.
Windowsill gardening can incorporate several other forms of gardening, such as micro, hydroponic, hanging, and pot gardening.
Make sure there is suitable airflow and sunlight. If growing inside, remember that water, feeding, and maintenance may be different than what’s required outside. Remember to keep the area easy-to-reach if you’re focused on accessible gardening.
For food production in this type of gardening, it’s a good idea to select plants that are self-fertile, if planting indoors. You probably don’t have any pollinators inside your home, after all.
You also want plants that are multi-producers (one plant provides numerous harvests):
- Lettuce
- Sugar Snaps
- Potatoes
- Herbs with shallow roots: thyme, parsley, basil, coriander, tarragon, mint
- Calendula
- Sweet peas
- Dwarf Daffodils
- Freesias
- Dwarf Iris
- Spring Onions
- Spinach
- Kale
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Radishes
- Chilis
- Carrots
- Baby Beets
- Succulents
- Cactus
- Aglaonema
9. Micro Gardening
This type of gardening has picked up in popularity over the past few years because it offers those with small space and reduced access to the outdoors a quick-growing, accessible option.
Micro gardening is growing small plants in an extremely small space. Even those in tiny apartments can do accessible gardening on a micro scale.
It’s a great option for kids as the payoff is quick. A fun project is to clean half an eggshell and grow greens as hair; we love drawing faces on ours.
Microgreens will grow in small amounts of seed-starting soil and in things around the house, like cut milk cartons, plastic tubs, trays, or jars.
You can purchase micro-specific seeds from most garden stores. Here are a few common species:
10. Hydroponic Gardening
In today’s world, some of us cannot use soil in our yards; it may also not be convenient, and hygiene may be a factor for health reasons.
Hydroponic gardening offers the opportunity to embrace the healing nature of plants, homegrown food, and support the household budget without any soil necessary. Plus its perfect for those looking to explore accessible gardening.
Many plants are suited to growing in water, and kits can be purchased to give you all you need. You can also create your own kits; it’s not rocket science.
It’s best to use seeds or plants started hydroponically, as plants that originated in soil may not cope well with being uprooted and planted in water.