The physical benefits of working in the garden are a perfect complement to the rewards of creating a beautiful space or harvesting the freshest vegetables.

But the physical demands of garden work can become a challenge with age. If you find that challenge of creating the garden of your dreams no longer aligns with your body’s reality, it’s time to re-evaluate how you work in the garden and adapt to those changes.

Abandon perfectionism:

Prioritize areas of your garden where you spend time or are ever-present views from inside your home. Re-think areas that you rarely see or use. Make conscious decisions about where the tended garden ends and either plant a border of easy-care shrubs or weed whack the space a couple of times a season.

Be a realist:

Consider your time, budget and physical abilities. Your garden should be a pleasure, not a burden. It may mean eliminating areas you’ve tended in the past and turning them over to less labor-intensive plantings.

Ask for help:

If you can afford a garden helper for things you can no longer do yourself, go for it. Maybe you have a neighbor who would like to help in exchange for some of your vegetables or a bouquet of flowers.

Embrace raised beds:

Planting, maintaining and harvesting vegetables without straining your back will make your garden a pleasure rather than a burden. Ornamental containers, elevated from the ground, allow you to tweak and maintain pretty vignettes without strain and hassle. They can punctuate areas you’ve simplified, whether with hardscape or plantings that require minimal care.

Employ containers:

Use containers as large as your space and budget allow. Think about the time required to maintain a 4-inch pot versus a 24-inch pot. One requires daily attention, the other gives you wiggle room, except for the hottest and driest times of the year. Better to care for a couple of large containers than many small pots.

Plant shrubs:

Choose those that colonize and take over a bed in lieu of perennial plantings that require more time to maintain. Carefully chosen, shrubs can add interest the entire year. There are plants that will shrug off deer, drought and poor soil, filling space and adding interest without adding maintenance.

Employ groundcovers:

Once you’ve planted shrubs, add groundcovers to complement them. A sunny hillside planted with junipers or ornamental grasses can be under-planted with moss phlox or sedum species. Each will battle erosion and look beautiful throughout the growing season.

Work smarter, not harder:

Tools are bound to make chores easier in the garden. Look for kneelers and scooters if stooping and bending becomes a challenge. Extended or wider handles can make life easier for stiff backs or arthritic hands. Lightweight coiled or fabric hoses can make watering easier than lugging the older, heavier versions around the garden.

A proactive approach to meeting the challenges of age or physical changes can make your garden a pleasure, not a burden.

Start your seedlings

Plan to start your seeds indoors so they are at the correct stage of development to move outside after the last frost.

Wait another week before planting if the weatherman predicts frost at that time. Follow the instructions on the seed packet and use the calendar to figure out the sowing dates.

Always read the directions on the seed packet. Larger seeds, such as beans and corn, do best if you sow them directly in the garden.

Write the sowing date on each seed packet and group together with other packets having the same sowing time.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Diane Dorn, Lehigh County Extension Office Staff, and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613.