How can I make my garden accessible? : answers from Paralyzed Veterans of America

Question: Before my accident, I was an avid gardener, and I spent many happy hours on my knees cultivating my flowers and vegetables. Now that I am in a wheelchair, I cannot reach down to tend Mother Earth, and my wheels bog down in the soft earth. I love to watch my garden grow, but I want to get my hands dirty and enjoy gardening again. How can I make my garden accessible?

Answer: Raised planting beds are on old cottage garden tradition that can be adapted to make your garden accessible. Raised beds for flowers and vegetables have been traditionally used to overcome soil problems such as heavy clay and poor drainage. This is especially true in climates with cool wet springs that delay spring planting until the soil has warmed and dried sufficiently. Soil in raised beds is improved with the addition of manure, compost, sand, and now vermiculite or perlite to make the soil more fertile and friable. Paths between the raised beds are typically paved with brick or flagstone on a sand base to eliminate mud, provide drainage, and to absorb solar heat, warming the planting beds for earlier spring planting.

To adapt this gardening tradition to make your garden wheelchair accessible, you will need to raise the height of the planting beds to be within your reach range. At a minimum the soil height should be 9” above the path. A soil planting bed height of 12” to 15” will be easier for you to cultivate. If you raise the soil height in the planting beds any higher, flowers and vegetables may grow beyond your upper side reach height limit of 48”. Raised planting beds should be narrow enough for you to reach from either side of the bed. A maximum width of 20” for 9” high beds and a maximum width of 24” for 12 to 15” high beds is recommended.

You can make the raised planting beds as long as you want, but you will need convenient access to both sides. For maximum sun exposure the length of the beds should have an east-west orientation. To maximize the planting surface area, you will want to keep the path width between the planting beds a minimum width of 36”. Include a turn around space at the ends of paths between your raised planting beds. A 60” x 60” T-shaped maneuvering space will fit into 36” wide paths. U turns around the narrow ends of your raised planting beds will require a 42” path width, with 48” clearance at the ends of planting beds. For wheelchair passage, paths should be paved. Brick, flagstone or even concrete pavers can be tight set on a sand base so that rain and supplemental watering can soak into your garden. Impervious paving such as concrete, asphalt or mortared brick paths will waste water that would otherwise benefit your garden.

For potting, sorting bulbs, and other garden tasks you will need some accessible flat working surfaces. Ideally, the surfaces should be designed so that you can work with both hands in front of you. Low benches can be incorporated into the ends of your planting beds and also serve as handy places for a basket, watering can, or hand tool. With adequate toe clearance (9” high minimum) you will need 42” clear in front of a low bench for a frontal approach in your wheelchair.

Traditional cottage gardens often use raised planting beds as cold frames for early spring and late fall gardening under glazed window sash. The accessible raised planting beds can be easily adapted as accessible cold frames by fitting them with removable hinged pairs of window sash. They can open to either end and be accessed from either north or south sides of the raised planting beds. The raised planting beds will not only enable you to get your green thumbs into the earth from your wheelchair, but many of your flowers and vegetables will be growing at an ideal level for you to enjoy the scents and sights of a well-tended garden.

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