Am I going to miss this gardening year?

I'm out of action. It's doing my nut in already. I'm climbing the walls. Except I'm not, because I can't to anything impressive with my upper body.

I've had two rounds of surgery on my upper back in recent weeks. The most recent being just over a week ago, and I'm under strict instructions not to do any form of upper body exercise for 3 weeks (so 2 weeks of that left). Doesn't sound too bad right? But then that's 2 more weeks not til I go back to normal, it's 2 more weeks of rest before I can begin the slow process of physical rehabilitation, so still no big garden projects.

Meanwhile, I have trees that need a good hair cut, a whole front garden to level and then make into something, and a small Japanese themed garden complete with pond and waterfall to build. Not to mention a general post winter tidy of the whole back garden, and then seed sowing and planting up.

I'd usually have got the tidy up done by now. That would include chopping back all the willow and tidying the trees, and any digging done. None of it is likely to start now for at least a couple of months, taking us into April.

So I might have to revise my strategy. Based on what I've said I have on my list, what do you good folks suggest I prioritise, and what should I scrap off for now?

 

Just do what you can when you can.
I have loads of stuff I would like to do, but mostly these days I just do what I can when I get round to it.
I was always busy changing this and doing that, but I know I cant do it anymore, it drives me crazy but I'm getting used to the idea slowly.

 

Same here. I simply can't do the 10 or 12 hour days that I used to, so the priority is fitting in really urgent stuff according to the weather, only doing essential pruning, chopping waste in situ and calling it mulch and trying to get rid of horror weeds like hairy bittercress before they seed.
Depending what your front garden is like now, leave it until autumn or even next year. The Japanese garden and pond sound like extremely hard work, so postpone that too. Better to leave it a year and do it well than try too soon and have to abandon it.

 

Best to take it slowly even though you are bound to feel depressed, agitated, annoyed, helpless & a dozen other negative feelings! It's far better to let your body heal before you start doing anything heavy. So only do the light stuff for now & please, please stop & rest when you fell pain or too uncomfortable.

Remember what good ol' King Solomon once said in the Bible, Their is a time for everything under the sun, etc.! Get well soon that's your most important task at present!

 

Hi clueless sorry to hear you had to had surgery on your back but getting fit and well is a priority

i know you love gardening as many do and many suggest as bale said Its far better to let your body heal before you start doing any thing heavy or stressful and when you mess in garden do something light to begin with ( remember if you go and do some digging etc before you well you could end up not only making yourself worse but you might not be able to do any gardening any more and i am sure you dont wont that?)
so get well first and leave garden for awhile the garden not going anywhere

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Get well soon, just do what you can but don't over do it and put yourself furher back than you were before,

 

Thanks all.

The surgery was nothing to do with my muscles or bones or anything. The risk is that I'll split the wound open.

My kids can do quite a lot now, and the Japanese garden project is my eldest son's project anyway so I guess he'll be more hands on.

It's just doing my head in because I like to get stuck in, but I guess for the next couple of months I'm going to have to get used to a more supervisory / coordinator role.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. I'm notorious in my little circle for rushing back to things too soon after injury. When I smashed my foot up years ago, I was told no martial arts for at least 6 weeks. I was back less than a week later. This time I'll force myself to behave.

 

Usually a wound mends after a few weeks without the chance of breaking it open.
Its quite amazing how fast the body heals, it just seems a long time while its happening.

 

They removed a rather large section of my entire skin, right down to the muscle underneath. It will already have sealed itself up by now, but the issue is to seal it up the surgeon and his team had to use brute force to push the two two sides back together. His assistants literally forced everything to meet in the middle and held it there while the surgeon quickly stitched it up then reinforced it with stick on strips. So it's not that the wound will take a long time to heal, it's more than I now have limited range of motion because the skin is pulled tight.

Best way I can describe it is likely this. Imagine wearing a shirt that is too small. You might get in it and get it fastened if a few people physically squish you in, but one wrong move and it'll just rip open. Except fortunately it's not like that because in time, with the right exercises, it will all regenerate and I'll get my flexibility back.

 

Put the telly on, watch something mundane and boring. The garden will still be there when you're better so why rush? Life's not meant to be lived full tilt all the time.
If you do get some volunteers to assist, just get them doing the basics or enough to appease your needs

 

Before I caught Long Covid I was able to walk 1 1/2 miles in town and spend hours doing tasks in the garden, since then I catch the Bus into town and do small jobs in the garden with plenty of rests.
Clueless, my friend, just get yourself well before you think about your garden, because, ha your garden will still be there even if you've missed a gardening season.