You are all 'babies' except for cAROL, I know her. lol

I will be 69 the end of this month and my hubby convinced me, and of course my body talked to me too, that having plant sales every year or every couple of years was over for me. 'Arthur Ritus' has got me in his clutches! Just hands and ankles so far.

I even gave all the pots I had been collecting, hidden under the deck out of hubby's sight, away by putting a sign out saying free!!! I had 8 huge industral size bags filled with posts and got rid of all but 2 bags full which I recycled.

Time catches up with you! Yes it does!

I think about what to do with all the extra plants I will have when I go to thin the beds in the spring. It hurts me to throw away something that someone else can enjoy the beauty of.

I'll even be cutting back on WS. Just tomatoes and a few annuals for me this next year.

Well those are my plans. Hope I can stick to them.

Connie

Hello good buddy Connie.
At 69, you are still going strong.I hope I am in as good shape as you, when I turn 69. :0)
With all my garden beds, and over 2,000, potted hosta, and doing Klehims every year,I am running out of steam,ha ha
I HATE WINTER, but****** am starting to think, that just maybe, I need the time to re-coop, other wise, I think I may work myseld into a frennzy.
Are you planning a garden walk for next year?
I wanna see what all you have done.
cAROL

LOL @ "Arthur Ritus"!

Connie - you don't have to throw plants away or even stop selling plants. You can post on Freecycle or Craigslist free, and people will clamor to come and dig the plants up and take them away for free. They will even pay you $$ for them - last year I sold $250 worth of daylilies and Irises that had to be removed from a front border along the street where the town was putting in a side walk. The thing was, I had terrible tendonitis last season and could not dig with the big shovel for 5 months. These people came and PAID ME to dig out the plants and take them away. What a deal!! For both of us though - they got large mature clumps of plants real cheap.

I am 50 and because of a couple injuries in my wrists in recent years, I have to think a lot more ergonomically about gardening, computer work, working on the house, etc. Yoga and stretching exercises are essential. I suppose this is just preparing me for the long downhill slide..... :-/

55, and pretty nasty hand arthritis - besides trying to keep it at bay with diet and exercise, I find denial works pretty well - most of the time, anyway. :)

Hope you don't mind a "lurker" chiming in here. It is such a good topic and often on my 62 year old mind. One of the best discussions on this topic I found on the Winter Garden Forum started by "Luseal" in 2002. I see someone has brought it to the first page of that forum again.
Ann

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Garden Forum

Turned 61 this year, and I'm just getting lazy! Still love growing stuff, just wish there was someone else to take care of it all. Most days.

Right now, there is a godawful mess out on the terrace from the storms here the last couple of days. Pots overturned, mulch and dirt spilled out everywhere. Did manage to get everything upright; that alone left me breathing hard. Now I'm waiting for the water to dry off, then I can sweep up most of the mess. At the rate I'm going, maybe I'll have it done by next spring. LOL (kinda)!

And I've been yearning for a "real" garden in real ground. Hopefully, with more space to move around, I can find ways to make it a little easier.

PV

I addition to the problems with joints, muscles, energy, other interests and serious disabilities there may be the problem of fixed income and costs. I moved [Rather the spouse moved us.] to a place that had been xeriscaped and I quit growing vegetables in part because of the cost of water.

First off, hugs to everyone on this forum--the aging and sore as well as the still-young-and-strong. I'm 45 and extremely lucky to still be in excellent health. As I read these comments I had a nice thought. For those who can afford it, how about hire a teenager occasionally to do the simple, heavy stuff--like edging or raking or splitting large perennials? In addition to getting their amazing energy for a few hours, you'll potentially be introducing them to gardening--especially if you wander around with them as they work and describe/explain what you're having them do for you. You could even send them home with some plants or a cut vase of flowers for their mom or Grandma. I work in geriatrics and have kids who are nearly teenagers. I think we need to rebuild the lost bridges that used to exist between our generations. Anyone else?

Martha

I've already "retired" an island bed. Took out the perennials, and planted false spirea and a hydrangea. I may add a few annuals to the edge. My twins had babies in the last two years. One has a two year old girl, and now twins (again!), a boy and a girl. The other has a 7 month old, and is planning on one more.
So, my yard is now decked with a Mr. Turtle sandbox, a climber and slide, and a playhouse (all picked up off the side of the road..yahoo!).
I'm helping all I can with the kids, so the flowers will have to take a back seat for now.
Two hours with a two year old is like having the life-energy sucked out of you. How did I ever do it, so long ago? Oh yeah..I was 26!

Docmom-I've tried to hire a teenager to help but they don't want the work. I guess physical labor is not to their liking. I am also getting older and sorer by the minute and the physical part of gardening is less and less attractive to me. The professionals cost and arm and a leg. even with a poor economy most folks don't want anything to do with physical labor!
Joann

I agree,teenagers today, do not want to work, not around here anyway.
Last week I hadmy grandson over to give a hand.It was like babysitting!When you have to stay by their side,and explain every little thing,you get nothing done.Like, ok, when we pull weeds, we put them on this tarp, then, when it is full, we drag it to the compost pile,yes, we then bring it back, and fill it once again,yes, back to the compost pile,no, were not quite done, there are stray weeds left on the grass, we now rake them up,not done yet, we can't just leave all the yard tools out on the lawn.
Just a sampling of how it goes.
He is 20. I can do with out this kind of "Help" :0)
cAROL

It's like that with any inexperienced help, including my husband. Most times it's easier to do it myself.

It's fall clean-up time. No one I could afford to hire knows which plants are perennials and just get cut back, and which are annuals that get yanked and composted. Nobody wants to chop up garbage for the compost, either. They want to stuff it in a plastic lawn bag and send to the land fill. That's why I don't have much help.

I need an easier to maintain garden, period.

Karen

Wanted to chime in here. I just bought a new house (much smaller), but the yard is about the same size as previous. But... you can bet my plans for this place are much simpler, smaller and for less maintenance. At 58, I just found my gardening in the old place was getting to be a chore--all the beds and maintenance much tougher and more time-consuming than they were 10 years ago. As some of you said, it was difficult to find help--forget the teenagers!

So, with an eye to the future, I'm really trying to keep my new garden plans easy. Then again, ask me three years from now ;-)

Hey Professor,
Where ya been?????
We were asking about you a few months ago.
So nice to hear for you again.
Are you here to stay?We hope so.
cAROL

Yes, cAROL, I'm back. Thank you. Posted a message in conversations, but just couldn't pass up a chance to reply to this!

I am 52 and have only heard my botanical clock ticking since 1996 or so. Ever since, I have winter-sown many many plants, but also have started a dahlia bed, which as you know requires a lot of work, especially digging them up in the fall. Every year it seems to be getting harder, and maybe one day I will give up on the dahlias, but every August-October, I marvel at these beauties that keep me going long after others have expired.

And, to keep my spirits up during the winter and to have flowers as well, I have developed an addiction to Amaryllis. I have now over 100 bulbs, which need to be hauled outside for summer, then hauled to basement in the fall to be prepped for the new round of blooms. I am beginning to wonder if I am out of control as I acquire more and more bulbs each year (!).

I am sadly out of shape, but, by the end of each summer, I don't seem so bad. Certainly the slothful winter does me in every year, and each spring I feel more and more stiff as a result. I know I should stay active during the winter, but as the colds winds howl here in Quebec, all I want to do is cocoon with my cats and a hot-toddy, and of course my amaryllis.

Bottom line, I feel I have so much lost time to recover, gardening-wise, being a relative late-starter, and I still have trouble knowing the difference between not enough and too much :)

So many plants, so little time!

What an interesting thread and a topic that we all are or will face at some point in time. I am 66 and even tho I find myself the happiest and most content 'in the garden' I know my body is rebelling. Just spent 2 years as a caregiver for my Mom who was on hospice and gardened in bits and pieces as time permitted depending on her condition and always with a baby monitor close by to hear her if she needed help. She passed away very peacefully this past February and I was all gung ho to devote 'all my time' to gardening.......REALITY CHECK......over 90 days of 90+ temps told me that AC was very nice - I can't take the heat like I use to be able to. As a result hubby and I are switching over to more shrubs and a low maintenance garden. I will still wintersow but will show some restraint and work towards drought tolerant low maintenance type plants. I need to garden - it is in my blood - I will just adjust to the aging process - it is all a part of life :) ......

Lynne

Interesting topic.
I'm 63, and don't have the energy I wish I did - but I'm not convinced it's age - In my case could be the Lyme I had once, or my adrenal fatigue.

My friend gardened into her 90's, she died at 95 and until a year befor her death she continued to be active and mentally sharp. I'm convinced it was the gardening that kept her so.

I find I'm doing less in the garden, and am doing more elsewhere. I still enjoy it. I can't kneel for long like I used to.

ellen

Artist Claude Monet said:
"More than anything, I must have flowers, always, always."

I just had my 70th, and I still love gardening. I'm not going to plant much of a vegetable garden next year, but I still intend to have the flowers and wintersow too much probably. I find I have to give enormous amounts of plants away every spring, but there is a lot of joy in that, too! Just trying to make my corner of the world more beautiful, I guess. I have one knee replaced, and need the other replaced but I have to wait another two years until I'm off the Tamoxifen I'm taking for the cancer. I have to sit on the ground to do everything, but if I didn't have my flowers, I'm not sure I would ever make it out of bed in the mornings.

Barbe -
you are an inspiration!

And..a little bit off topic, but-
I'd like to share this for what it's worth-
many people have talked about the joint pain that may come with age.
My father is 92 and a few years ago he was taking Tylenol ALL day for joint pain (which can lead to liver failure, as the NSAID's can). I got him to take SAM-e - you can look it up, it is an enzyme which occurs naturally in our body and decreases with age. (I take it for depression for me it is a miracle.)

Anyway...once he started my father no longer needed to take Tylenol, and after a yr or so, he stopped taking the SAM-e and so far still has no pain!
He is telling his pals in the retirement comm'y about it.

Altho this may be off-topic and may anger some, I feel like I want to let people know about this option with no side effects. It may help some people.

regards,
ellen

I just retired at age 67 this past summer and discovered that, with my work schedule, I had neglected my yard and garden quite a bit.

However, I did manage to get a few tomatoes and cukes planted and enjoyed them immensely. I am going to plant more veggies next year, so I thinned out the many flowers I have and will donate them to our garden club's spring plant sale. Most of the remaining plants will be low maintenance perennials and shrubs. I will only fill in with a few annuals, but nothing like the quantity I used to plant.

I have always gardened organically and spent considerable time this fall covering every square inch of my gardens with as many shredded leaves that I could get my hands on. I always keep my soil covered with as much mulch as I can and this helps considerably to cut down on weeds and watering.

I did find out how badly out of shape I was and have had to learn to pace myself. As much as I love gardening, I just don't have the stamina I used to have, so this is why I rely so heavily on mulches to cut down on maintenance.

One item I positively could not do without is my pair of roofers' knee pads that I purchased several years ago at Home Depot. They were worth every penny, for I can no longer kneel on my bare knees anymore. Just hurts too much.

This has been a great thread for it's comforting to know that us happy achers have plenty of company out there.

I spent hours yesterday doing fall clean-up in the yard. Probably 5 hours, but a few years ago I would have accomplished the same work in two hours. And I was freezing. It was cloudy with temps stuck in the low 40s.

Geez, I'm achey. Advil will be my best friend today. And still quite a bit of work to do.

Must cut back.

Karen

Besides cleaning house these last few days, trying to get in shape for the holidays,and keeping up with yard work, I am besides my self.I wish I could just let the house work go, I would much rather be outside,I need two of me, where years ago, just me,would have been enough.
Trying to decide which is more important,housework, or the garden?ha ha, yea, I know the RIGHT,answer.
cAROL

81 this fall. Still growing dahlias, gladiolus and brugmansias. Kneeling to work is easy. Getting up is an entirely different matter. Hang in there. Steve S.

81 Oscar? Wonderful!
I hope to be in your shape at 81,thanks for posting.
cAROL

Has anyone noticed that the "L" and "XL" sizes of T shirts and sweat pants (my uniform) are on the shelf that is ON THE FLOOR! So, the teeny tiny zeros and smalls can cruise at eye level, but those of us that take "comfort" sizes end up on our knees, and can't get up!
Hmmmm...

I was glued to this thread ... read every single one ...
I laughed ... and I cried ... thank you

I'm now 69 yrs. and in good health but am starting to feel my age. Two years ago, I realized I had 'biggered' my gardens to the extent that they were no longer enjoyable. The weeding took its toll and I started letting things go. Last year when the weeds were completely taking over one of the huge beds (where I hybridized my daylilies), I decided I definitely had to drastically downsize.

I went out there and removed 125 pvc markers and took the brush mower over the whole mess. We started mowing it regularly and I expect eventually the daylilies will give up. (but - I wonder.) Yes, I tried over the last 5 years to offer named daylilies to anyone wanting to come to the farm and dig them but ended up with a real mess of holes all over. I did, however move a good number of my favorites to a small garden area near the house.

This spring, I will do the same with another huge bed once I transplant the perennials I want to save. The only big bed I will leave alone is the hosta bed which I love. I wish all plants self-mulched like hostas. There is no room for weeds to grow and it is gorgeous.

I need to save the peonies for sure.

Hi,

Just turned 58 last week and have all the aches and pains.

I garden in raised beds(24") made out of wood so I don't have to bend as much. I can sit on my little rolling cart that holds tools,seeds, etc. and work on each box as energy allows.

Some of my rectangular boxes are on 36" legs and I don't have to bend at all. This was my solution to getting a little older and knowing I could not give up gardening.

The square foot gardening method works great in my boxes and I don't have to plant tons of things.

Margarita10

Retired, 70 and just moved to Cape Cod 18 months ago. We came from 3 well planted acres to a one acre lot with nothing but standard builder foundation plantings and a sorry excuse for a lawn. Last spring we planted shrubs - had someone tear out the existing ones, replant elsewhere , plant "curb appeal" foundation and lot line plantings, sliced, loamed and seeded the lawn . I pace myself - do what I can today or tomorrow. When I stop having fun, I hire someone to complete the job! This year plantings will be ornamental grasses, new raised perennial and annual beds for easy access, quick color and cutting. Life at 70 can be slow but at this age we really don't have anywhere to rush to! The good news is that in the gardens I breath new life and energy!

Housework???? My eyes are as age consistent as my bones, joints and muscles. I pick up daily, dust and do laundry weekly and think about being in the garden!

Dorothy M

hi gardeners,
I will be 62 in february.I have really had to cut back alot the last 2 yrs due to health.Last summer I had as many weeds as flowers and that broke my heart to see my beautiful beds get runover.But I survived that and pulled what I could.I let 2 rose beds go and will replace them this year with hydrangeas.I am going to ws more hardy perennials and try to plant real close,hoping to cut down on the weeds.I dug up about 30 feet of my cottage garden and planted it in a fall garden.I want to increase my veges and herbs and decrease my flowers.As I am getting older I am going more with plants like lilies and hostas.I am trying to plant things now that need as little care as possible.Never have been good at planning a flower garden because I love every new plant I meet.I discovered wsing too late in life but believe me,until I take my dirt nap,I'm gonna be sowing and planting...life without gardening is like life without breath...now I just need to get started wsing.missed out on all the swaps because I got sick but there's next yr.Just love this forum and have really missed not being here much,but hopefully I am back for good now.Who ever said getting old was the golden age,lied..lol
moonphase

I'm 51 and doing ok but finding mentally I just don't like taking on as much...but at the same time, I appreciate creating an oasis of peace more than ever. So I'll figure out some compromise.

I will be 46, but had severe athritis esp. in my hands. I was WS in the basement as it got colder. I had to stop. I had no control over my fingers.

I can't take the heat as much either. I pulled weeds and watered at night. Things do change. Very much so.

Getting older? I always thought my mother was old. Now I'm where she was. She is gone and I'm in her place. Just not so crippled.
I'm in good health for 64 and have no problems. I would rather be outside than in. We are retired but who said life was easer. Since retiring 10 years ago we have moved, built a home and now cut our own wood for heat. I would love to garden to feed us all winter but the fruits don't grow for me here. Don't get enough sun but we keep taking down the trees around the house before they fall on us. Someday maybe. I can't see me not gardening or splitting wood. ALL BY HAND.
This has been fun reading all these post. Keep up the good work.
Happy Healthy New Year to each and every one of you no matter your age.
gmom

Happy Healthy New Year to each of you, dear people.
I turned 60 last November. So scary, body gives different notices. But i like gardening, I wish I could do this whole year, but I hate being in wet cold garden in winter, actually it's my body who hates it.
I am trying to talk my DH in building sunroom on a deck so i could garden there in winter.
How do you handle "winter gardening breaks"?

I don't feel old at 45, but I do need to budget my time because I work (more than) full time. I like winter because it forces me to think outside the garden. In the spring, summer, and fall, I spend all my free time in the garden and don't want to do anything or go anywhere else. In the winter, I try to figure out solutions to garden problems and research new plants or seeds to buy, and also do some cooking and baking, which I don't do much of at other times of the year. So I really appreciate having a winter gardening break; it puts more rhythm into my life.

gmom, 64 and splitting your own wood for heat? Wow, you rock!

Cheer up,my friends,do not despair
Don't let growing older give you the crazies
For when you're six feet under, you'll still be gardening
'cause then you'll be pushin' up daisies!

Just wanted to brighten your day-ha ha
Garden on, my friends!

Oh, astilbebstillz6a!! That is a good one. :) I like it even (if the pushing up daisies part is looming closer and closer) haha

I turned 62 last Spring, and could not imagine having a Spring if it were not for the garden and flowers. After all, what would be the point? After a long hard and dark winter, that is what I look forward to the most. I do know that last year with the heat in the summertime I worked outdoors in shorter spurts of time, and usually just in the mornings. Other than sometimes I had to roll over on my side to get up from the ground, it is still the greatest satisfaction on earth.

Please don't give up! The moment you do, you may give up many other things, such as your willpower. Plant as much as you can to give yourself a challenge! I'm not aged yet, but when I do, I'm going to plant plant plant! Time is a desease and you can't give up the fight. Try some water aerobics. Great workout and it's easy on the joints. I know many people that have the rumatizm so bad they could barely walk. But after a few sessions of water aerobics they gained their mobility.

Moonphase..just picked up on your "dirt nap" reference. Love it! Please bury me under the canopy of a big tree!

I turned 67 last month and am planning my gardens right now and getting ready to do some WS. I do a lot more with veggies than flowers. My DH always gripes about how flowers and shrubs are perfect hiding places for the snakes. Anyway, I've had arthritis since I was in my 20's. My knees usually give me more problems than anywhere else so I do have one of the little carts with wheels and places for tools and seeds that I can sit on. DH bought me a new tiller last year and I enjoy doing my own tilling. I have a very large garden. I did use rows of plastic in the garden last year and it was a big help at keeping the weeds down. Can't take the heat as well as I use to, so when I feel it might be getting to me, I stop and come into the house. I know I can do more than a lot of people older than me and some younger, but I just pace myself - no sense in overdoing it and causing more problems than I already have. I hope I can continue some amount of gardening until I take that ultimate nap. Even if its sticking a few tomato plants, cukes and lettuces into the self watering tubs I've built. Its the fact that I'm still doing something and get great results that will keep me going.

We built our own house five years ago on our 21 acres and do all our own maintenance as well. DH splits the firewood and I stack it. Works for us.

I'm glad that this thread was "bumped up". It makes for great inspiration.

I supply plants to schools every year to create butterfly gardens. This year after a back operation, I'm going to have the kids come to my house to dig up my winter sown plants and divide some perennials.

I posted before,but I was just re-reading what every one has to say.
Had my Dr. apt. last week, he was telling me that 60's, are the new 40's,we are living to be in our 80.s now.
When you are 60, you are no longer concidered,Old, you are,Older,70 , your are old,80,VERY OLD
Is 63 old?I don't feel old,yes, I have all the aches and pains we all do, but is 63,really old?I don't think so.
I am 20 pounds over weight,but still feel,well, sexy, at times,still love pretty bras and panties,lipstick,and a nice hair du.Come 7-8 pm, I want my jammies on, during the winter, during the summer, I am m out side til dark.
63 old??? No.How many here still enjoy pretty undies,you 40 year olds,are still babies.:0)
cAROL

Just1morehosta, I'm with you. I don't feel old, but some of the aches and pains keep reminding me I'm not the kid that I sometimes see myself as. I have you beat on overweight, but yes, I do still love the pretty undies, nighties and feminine clothing. I sold my motorcycle last year because my husband was scared to death I'd get hit on the street. I have silver hair, but can still outdo a lot of the kids of today. And it really gets me when I see these youngsters in cars fighting the elderly for parking spaces close to the shops. Oh yes, and the couple about my age, but with no handicapped tag, that drove like crazy to get the "for pregnant women and women with small children" parking space. My goal has been to be like my grandmother, to live to be 96 or better and still going on my own.

Hi Everybody, I am turning 59 next month and have osteoarthritis in my hands and toes. Ugh! I had surgery on my right hand a few months ago and did my left hand about 5 years ago. I again have pain in my left hand as well. I LOVE gardening and like most of you, have spent dawn till dusk out in the garden losing track of time and loving every minute if it. Now I look at that kind of day as a dreaded chore and absolutely cannot do it anymore. My hands hurt bad and I feel very sad that I am not as strong as I used to be. I'm letting many areas in my garden go "natural" and have decided to concentrate on a few perennial beds of my favorite flowers and shrubs. I am purchasing a cordless hand pruner which I'm excited about and very hopeful it will allow me to do many of the tasks that hurt my hands. And I am just not going to be as meticulous about everything being perfect anymore. If there are some weeds in the bed, they will have to just share the space with everyone else. :) I hope I can continue gardening until I grow old, as least on a smaller scale. Judy

Hi Everyone! I'm 45, my husband is 56. I had back surgery number 4 in December, and back surgery number 5 (spinal fusion) five weeks ago. My poor husband has to do all the lifting, digging, moving, etc. for me until I'm fully recovered, on top of a full time job as a mailman, and doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. He's so tired by the end of the day!!!! I'll try to be more understanding, and less frustrated at my limitations. Some parts of the garden are having to wait until next year, or until I can get help from someone I trust to do the job right. IF we both want to live to be 90, we better pace ourselves more!

Glad this was resurrected :) I've been wondering is it just me? Turned 57 this year and my knees have started bothering me. I cope by taking a step stool around with me as I garden, that and a 5 gal bucket for the weeds I pull along with my favorite shears :) I can't work as long in the garden now, part of it is age, but part of it I think for me is not getting enough exercise in general.

Not giving up at this point though, just retired 2 years ago and I think this spring my garden looks better than it has in years. I finally have time to work in it without having to be such a weekend warrior.

Gee I thought I had posted on this thread, but just checked and didn't see it. I'm 63, and will be 64 in about 6 weeks, July 4th. I suffer from fibromyalgia and during the winter I'm almost crippled from it, but once the weather warms up I feel much better. This winter has literally kicked my butt. I've had 3 back surgeries in the past and have bad nerve damage from them, can't feel my legs from my knees down, YUCKY feeling. We are both retired and this season my hubby is helping me more than ever, thank goodness. The only thing I WS'd this season is tomatoes, and they are only putting on their true leaves now. I used to WS about 200 or more containers yearly, started in 2001, mostly perennials and I have to say my yard is full of those plants, :)

Alberta