Fit for Gardening

I love gardening so much and I want to continue with it for as long as I am alive. Actually I can`t imagine not being able to do it. 

With this in mind, there are a number of things we do to keep ourselves fit and flexible.

Number 1

We eat a lot of our own home-grown food. And we are mindful of what we eat.

Number 2

We do qigong exercises followed by tai chi, two or three times a week, attending a class on Wednesday evenings with George, who has been teaching us for the past 6 years. 

This marries well with our study of Jin Shin Jyustu.

Number 3

We have a series of yoga exercises which we do two or three times a week.

Number 4

I attend a general exercise class in the local village hall with Robin.

Number 5

Gardening itself and being outside in the fresh air keeps us fit.

It therefore creates a never-ending cycle.

As a gardener, this is what I need to be able to do.

•  to kneel, sit on my haunches, bend over etc for decent periods of time
• to push a full wheelbarrow of soil, compost or manure
•  to dig over large areas of ground
• to step over the sides of the compost bin or wire netting
• to dig deep holes for planting
• to continuously use tools such as secateurs, shears etc
• many other tasks which I can`t recall

One other tip is, to vary what you do in any one session

Our gardening year is well under way with large areas dug over and manured or composted, the herb garden cleared, despite the wet.....

....all the herb garden labels will need replacing this year.....

.......and more manure on the asparagus.

Here`s to a great asparagus harvest this year.

The grass is very lumpy and uneven after the winter. We could do with an old-fashioned roller.

As I look at the flower beds, I wonder how on earth I will get them to their summer glory.

   

I will just have to trust......

At home we have both been busy with our own projects.

Steve has completed a beautiful wine rack made from larch wood. The grain is wonderful.

 

 I`ve been making little pairs of slippers for Frazer from recycled hoodies and jeans.

We are off to Morocco next Saturday so I`m sure there will be a few posts about that.