How to create a beautiful garden all year round

There’s something a bit magical about having your own beautiful garden. And by magical, we mean scientifically backed evidence that gardens simply make you feel good.  

Not only can you get a hit of dopamine when you harvest something you’ve grown, there’s also a natural anti-depressant that can come from simply getting your hands dirty. 

So how can you create this magic and build up a beautiful garden all year round? Here are our top tips.  

Plan your year-round garden 

The first step is perhaps the least exciting one – planning. 

Take the time to look up which plants to sow at which times of year, then set out a calendar and maintenance schedule that you can stick to. A key tip would be to aim to plant flowers or veggies that bloom at different times of year so that you’ll always have something beautiful going on in the backyard. 

Essential tools for gardeners with ‘stiff' joints 

There comes a time when the best gardening tools for seniors are simply those that are kindest to your joints. 

Here are a few to make your gardening adventures more enjoyable than achy: 

  • Kneelers and kneeling pads
  • Light-weight trowels 
  • Gardening tools with padded handles
  • Weed-puller tools (so you can uproot weeds without bending)
  • Claw gloves

Why raised garden beds are your new best friends 

Raised garden beds mean you don’t have to bend over to care for your veggie patch or florals. In fact, many of these back-savers have wide enough lips to perch comfortably as you weed, water, and admire your handiwork.  

Stick to the low-impact gardening activities 

Gardening isn’t exactly an intense physical activity, but that’s not to say that there are some parts of it that are outright gnarly. 

Don’t be tempted to scale a tree with a chainsaw for a spot of pruning, or to pull out a stump on your own. These are jobs best left to the professionals both for the sake of your garden and your physical wellbeing. 

Year-round gardening tips for seniors 

Gardens can be needy things. They will want your love and attention year-round and require constant upkeep.

Here are a few things you can do throughout the year to keep things blooming:

  • Remember to rotate your plants. Plant different things in your plant beds to improve soil health and avoid pests
  • Put mulch down before winter to protect delicate roots from the cold and avoid soil erosion from heavy rain
  • Put mulch down again in early summer to keep the weeds under control and keep the soil from getting too dry
  • Deadhead (remove the dead/dying flowers) year-round to encourage the plants to put their energy into new flowers (and improve appearances)
  • Get the grandkids involved to double the fun and halve the work 

Think evergreen 

When a garden looks sad and sparse in winter, it’s often because too many of the trees, plants, and flowers only shine bright during spring and summer. 

Did you know that only 11 species of New Zealand plants are deciduous (shed their leaves at the end of the season), and the rest are evergreen? That’s a great excuse to introduce more native species into your garden. 

Even if you don’t have bright blooming flowers in winter, you can at least enjoy the lush look of evergreen plants year-round. 

Try these: 

  • Rhododendrons (they bloom in spring but still look lush and green in winter!)
  • Pittosporum Golf Ball 
  • Nandina (also known as Japanese bamboo, although it looks nothing like bamboo)
  • Buttercup Trees
  • Ilex Sky Pencil 

Bonus: Less dead leaves to clean up = less work and a more beautiful garden. Which means more time for the important things, such as working on your morning routine.

Unfortunately, you can’t plan life as well as you can plan out a beautiful garden. To cover yourself should the unexpected happen, explore Seniors Life Insurance today and discover how the right cover can protect your finances and your loved ones

12 Mar 2025