Advice offered to older gardeners

Gardening enthusiasts should warm up before beginning their horticultural activities, it has been asserted.

Jim Miller from older peoples information service Savvy Senior suggests that people should concentrate on warming up their legs and lower back to prevent muscles from seizing up.

It is also advised that horticultural enthusiasts do not spend too long a time carrying out repetitive activity in the garden.

"Dont spend hours weeding a flower bed. After 15 minutes of weeding, stand up, stretch and switch to another activity like pruning the bushes, or just take a break," Mr Miller tells online resource BradentonHerald.com.

Concluding, he suggests that people should be aware of their physical limitations and adjust themselves to deal with them.

For example, if mowing an expansive lawn tires someone out and leaves them unable to deal with other garden tasks, they could consider hiring someone to cut it for them.

Meanwhile, online resource About.com suggests that gardens can form part of a treatment programme for Alzheimers sufferers due to their soothing influence.