Spring is in the air!
Do you get the urge to spring clean? For the garden as well as the house? We will be allowed to entertain friends and family again soon in our gardens, so having a lovely garden is going to become especially important this year.
All the spring flowers are popping up, there’s colour everywhere. It’s a beautiful time for a walk through our glorious countryside. Spring lambs, nesting birds all give us the re-energising feeling of new life and fresh starts.
Before you head out, shovel in hand, here are a few things to think about-
-Gardening can be quite an energetic activity, there’s lots of bending over, lifting, crouching and twisting. If you’ve spent much of the last year indoors, a day of gardening will take its toll. Consider building up, even if you just an hour or two each day you will still feel the exertion in your legs and shoulders.
-Do you have the appropriate shoes? And no, I don’t mean crocs! If you are planning a digging session then you need some really tough soles, so that the top of the spade doesn’t cut into your shoe. For weeding and planting, lots of the twisting will come from your ankles so you need well-fitting, supportive shoes or boots.
-Mix up your gardening jobs, switch regularly. We’ve all knelt down for too long, felt the pins and needles forming, only to try and stand with a dead leg. You really need to make sure you allow your circulation to work properly and change position as you feel pins and needles- they are the warning. If you try and stand, you won’t have any awareness if your foot is twisted and injuries are likely to happen at this moment.
Please don’t wear sandals or flip-flops when out doing the gardening, there are just too many sharp tools, trip hazards and grit everywhere. It is good for your feet to have an air out and get some vitamin D (not too much though!) People with diabetes need to be especially careful with open shoes or bare feet in the garden as the reduced feeling (neuropathy) that diabetes causes will mean that if you get a bit of grit lodged on your foot, it won’t be noticeable and could lead to skin breaks, infections and worse scenario – an ulcer.
Get your gin and tonics, parasols and cushions at the ready, this spring is going to be glorious in the garden, full of giggles.