Reach for a helping hand
A disability doesn't mean you have to give up gardening, here is a selection of the latest in useful tools.

Those who can work in the garden without a second thought are very lucky.  Most of us are caught out by aches and pains at some point in our lives, but spare a thought for gardeners with more permanent problems.  In Britain alone, ther are more than 10 million disabled people, and one in three over-55s have a disability of some sort.  Whether the difficult is temporary  or more permanent, there are ways and means to carry on gardening and here are some ideas:

Peta Easi-Grip

Firm grip: Peta Easi-Grip garden tools, around £10, have soft plastic non-slip pistol grip handles which keep the wrist in a neutral stress-free position.  Ideal for gardeners with reduced grip strewngth and/oir reduced wrist flexibility.  Alternatively, transform existing tools using the Peta Add-On handles (£15 for two) that strap to the handles (01376 573476; http://www.peta-uk.com/acatalog/Assistive_Garden_Tools.html).


Lightweight tools: modern manufacturing methods and materials bring innovative new gardening tools to the market each year.

Darlac bamboo-handled tools

Fiskars' range of lightweight reinforced plastic/fibreglass tools is called Inspirations, from £4.99 (0115 927 7335; fishkars.com).
Darlac has launched a great range of 15 bamboo-handled tools with carbon steel heads, lightweight but extremely durable from around £5 for hand tools (01753 547790; darlac.com).

Wilkinsons Sword Lite Alloy hoe

Wilkinsons Sword offers a range of Lite Alloy tools, from £10, including hand tools and a long handled hoe (0845 894 1599; wilkinsonswordtools.co.uk).

Posture perfect: Choosing tools that fit the user helps to prevent aches and pains.  The new Fiskars telescopic spade and fork, around £40 (from January 2013) allows you to adjust the handle length to suit your height.

Arms reach tools: it's all very well having long-handled tools, but often you need to be at plant level to carry out the rest of the task.  Try these devisces for more convenient handling:
The Darlac Multi Pick, around £14, is great for picking  up all sorts of things around the garden and has suction pads for better grip;

Darlac multipick

The Snapper from Darlac, from £30, holds and cuts stems while you work, enabling you to work one-handed from a distance.  Ideal for light pruncing, fruit picking and deadheading.

Yeoman Grabrake

The Yeoman Grabrake, around £20 in autumn promotions, is a new product designed to make light work of clearing leaves and debris and reduce stooping (01905 791984; yeomangarden.com).


Cushion the blow: Think about the most comfortable position to work in.  Burgon & Ball's latest range of Kneelo knee pads are excellent if you struggle to kneel on hard surfaces.  Insorporating memory foam technology, the ultra-soft layers cushion and protect your knees while kneeling on stony or hard ground. It comes in six colours £17 and there is also a Kneeler cushion (0114 233 8262; burgon and ball).

Low-effort pruning: when it comes to pruning, just having sharp secateurs can make all the difference.  Tired, blunt tools require more elbow grease and can risk user injury.  For simple pruning, choose lightweight tools.  Ratchet pruners or geared pruners reduce the impact on wrists and hands.  the Wilkinson Sword Geared  anvil loppers £40, have lightweight telescopic handles and geared pruning blades for easier pruning.

The Burgon and Ball ratchet pruner, £18, has a three-stage ratchet that is easy to operate and ideal for pruning.

Burgon and Ball ratchet pruner

The Handy ratchet lopper from Darlac, at £18, weighs around 500g but cuts up to 35mm stems with ease.
Look out for the new Fiskars Quantum bypass pruner that has a lovely geared action to reduce user input.

Raise the bar: move your garden closer to working height with the new range of Forest Garden Accessible gardening products (from spring 2013).  There's a trough and cold frame on legs that can also be used as a potting bench, pllus a raised corner planter, from £100. Forest Garden also offers as assembly service for around £60 (0844 2489801; forestgarden.co.uk).

The horticultural charity Thrive works to help people living with a disability or mental ill health to transform their lives through gardening (0118 988 5688; thrive.org.uk).