Spring Gardening with Psoriatic Arthritis

By Vickie Wilkerson

3 min read

Spring is officially here. That means new growth and time for cleaning up the flower beds after the cold winter. I love gardening. It is one thing I find relaxes me. There is nothing like putting a new seed or flower in the ground to watch it grow. I have planted lilies in a bed that you have to pass to get to my front door. I love the smell of them that you get when walking to the door. I also love hearing how beautiful they are when I have company come over. It's a lot of work but the pay off can be rewarding. What is not rewarding is the pain that it brings to my body because of psoriatic arthritis. All that bending over or squatting is extremely hard on my knees and back since I developed psoriatic arthritis six years ago.

How spring affects me

With having that lily bed it means to start cleaning it before the flowers or seeds can go in I have to remove all the leaves that have gathered there through the winter. This spring my bulbs have already started blooming before all the cold days have come to an end. I have to leave the leaves on the bed so it helps protect the bulbs. That means when the time is right I have to get those leaves out. I cannot do it with a blower which would be easiest on my back and knees. I have to bend down or squat on my knees to pick the leaves out. It doesn't take but a few minutes before my back lets me know it is not happy with me. My knees do the same. Trying to get up brings that pain on even more.

Why continue to do it

That is an easy answer for me. For one thing, as I said I do enjoy doing it. It is me time. It is what I love to do. For another truthfully we cannot afford to hire a lawn care service to come to do it for us. With that being said then the option is just to have grass with no flowers in the yard because my husband does the mowing or I can choose not to let psoriatic arthritis define who I am. Please do not get me wrong. I do know people with psoriatic arthritis who are not able to keep gardening or doing the things they want to do. They can hardly walk or the pain is so intense that it just will not let them do anything like gardening.. I am lucky in that it has not gotten to that point. If it ever does then I may have no choice but to leave the gardening alone no matter how much I like it. That is a real possibility for me but for the time being, it is not something I have to worry about.

Best tips I can give

I take a lot of breaks when I am gardening. I give the back and the knees time to stretch out from being bent. It means that it takes me a while to get the bed cleaned out but slow and steady wins the race. I also wear a back belt that the doctor gave me for support. It helps to make sure I am not putting my back in to much of a bind when I am twisting to grab some more leaves. I try not to overdo it but sometimes I do. I also take a hot bath at night to let the tension ease out of them. If you love to garden I would like to hear your tips on what you do to care for your psoriatic arthritis. If you do not garden that is okay you can still share your tips on what you do to take care of your psoriatic arthritis.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Psoriatic-Arthritis.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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lorna2 Member
Vicky I use a scootch stool as I call it. It looks like an upside down green mushroom. Without it I couldn’t continue to garden which I, as you love. I also take advantage of containers to plant in as they are a better height. You can get waist height planters that help immensely for herbs and such. Good luck and may you continue to garden as you love
1. Vickie Wilkerson Moderator & Contributor
 Hi Lorna2, I never really thought about a scootch stool. I might need to invest in one. Thanks for the tip.
2. sarahr Member
 I have one of these and I would really urge you to get one. That, the lightweight hose and the long hoe really help with how long my joints can cope. I can get a lot more done before i feel like I need a break (or depending on whether I might need a cold cider!)
sarahr Member
I love my garden. Flowers fruit and vegetables I grow them all. It is both a source of joy and comfort to me. When I'm feeling up to it I can pull weeds and plant out to my heart's content or I can sit and enjoy my efforts when I'm not feeling so good. My main argument when my husband rolls his eyes at me (due to yet another garden purchase!) is that it is cheaper than other forms of therapy and he gets to enjoy the benefits too! My best recent purchase is a lovely lightweight extendable hose pipe which I can use instead of the heavy watering can and saves me frequent trips back and forth filling it up. I also have a big water butt close to my vegetable patch for easy access and to save me wasting water. At the moment when timing for sowing and planting are crucial I've got seed trays and compost close by in the porch for bad days and a very lovely husband who helps transport things to the greenhouse, as well as two young willing helpers in my kids 😀
1. Vickie Wilkerson Moderator & Contributor
 Hi Sarahr. I laughed when you posted about your husband rolling his eyes at another garden purchase. My husband does the same thing. He knows how much I love watching it grow. He is wonderful about helping with heavy objects too. I love the idea of the hose pipe. I might have to look into getting me one.
cathiegee Member
Spring is my favourite time of year, not only because I can get into the garden, but also it means the snow is gone and I can finally get outside. I live in Canada, and this past winter I was basically stuck inside from November until 2 weeks ago (due to medical issues including PsA, my balance is bad - especially on ice or uneven surfaces - think snow, sand etc.). I have learned to have help with my gardening, I am single, so I have a friend's adult son come and do the "heavy lifting" (clearing out the garden, trimming plants, planting). I can manage to plant my containers and I have a small raised vegetable & herb garden. I love to sit out on the patio and enjoy the sun and my garden.
1. VickiN Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention user-id="3278604" username="cathiegee"/> , a fellow Canadian here! I hope you have lots of great patio days coming soon 😀 -Victoria, Community Moderator
2. Vickie Wilkerson Moderator & Contributor
 Hi Cathiegee. I just for the first time got a young man to come pull the weeds. I have to admit it kind of made me feel bad I couldn't do it but I know my limitations. He did a wonderful job so I do get the joy of sitting there and seeing my beautiful beds all clean and growing. I hope you have many days of warm sun to enjoy your garden as well.

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