Speak to anyone who does a lot of gardening and they will all tell you the same thing – they took it up for relaxation and they now are completely hooked on getting things to grow bigger, brighter, tastier and better overall. It is utterly undeniable that people enjoy the serenity of a little light gardening – indeed it is with good reason that some organisations refer to an employee who is seeing out the remainder of their contract at home as being on “gardening leave”. Having the time and the inclination to do some gardening will allow you to put things in place that will look great and do you good for years to come. But it can come at a price.
Whenever you are in the garden it is important to make sure that you are not putting an excess of strain on the body parts that are most used in gardening. While the process inevitably involves a lot of crouching and bending, it is utterly essential that you follow the old maxim “bend with the knees and not with the back”. It would be bitterly ironic if you took up gardening to have a little bit of rest and relaxation, only to throw out your back early on. Yet this is something that happens to a lot of us, because an inexperienced gardener will not be as aware of the pitfalls as a green-fingered old hand.
Your garden is for relaxing in, more than anything else. So when you are out doing a bit of work, make sure that you do not forget to take a rest every once in a while. Putting strain on your back or your knees for a prolonged period will not strengthen them – it could lead to quite a nasty injury if you are not careful. Having a cold drink every so often will refresh you and give you the energy to take on the longer jobs – and will take the strain of the parts that need resting. After all, you don’t want someone to ask how you got your injury and you have to tell them “gardening injury”.