Wednesday, July 21, 2021

A few things I learned from breaking an ankle at the height of gardening season...

It's been seven weeks since I listened to those of you telling me to go get my ankle checked—that it might have been more than just a sprain. Which of course it was. 

It's been seven weeks since I've been able to put my left foot on the ground and walk. It's been just under six weeks since I had surgery, a metal plate and nine screws attached to my fibula.

Yesterday (my birthday), we had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon and I got the thumbs up to start putting weight on my leg (slowly, wearing a walking boot, using a crutch) and to begin physical therapy. Baby steps, but still the best birthday present ever.

If you'd have told me that during the time I was unable to walk that Portland would experience a record breaking heatwave with temperatures unlike anything we'd seen before—records of 108, 112, 116—I probably would have cried. In retrospect I still can't quite believe that I was out there in that heat, with the lower half of my left leg in a cast, attempting to get around on a knee scooter watering my garden like a mad woman determined. But I was, and my garden came through without too much damage.

The paver pathway to our patio through the lawn (photo circa 2016), see below for what this design has taught me

Here are a few things I learned over the last six/seven weeks:

  1. Crutches are like walking with chop-sticks. Maybe athletic 20-year olds can easily navigate around on crutches but not a middle-aged gardener. Get a knee scooter. They have a long lost of shortcomings and are as frustrating as hell in a small house but are life-changing.
  2. My husband is not a gardener / but he can set a sprinkler. I was told multiple times "I am not a gardener," usually when I reacted with dismay that he could walk right by something obviously in need of care/picking up, but not do it unless asked. On the other hand once I set up a watering regime for the upper back garden and the bamboo-stock tanks, one that could be done with a sprinkler set to run for 45-minutes or so, he made that happen. Over and over again. Thank you Andrew.
  3. Pavers set in lawn are hell on wheels. I love the pathway to our patio made up of pavers set into the lawn (photo above). The contrast of soft green organic material surrounding the hard concrete, it never gets old. That is unless you're trying to move up that path on four 8" wheels designed to move across level surfaces. I've never felt older than when navigating this section of the garden. Getting around over by the shade pavilion was also trying. What's worse than pavers in lawn? Pavers in gravel. Whose idea was that anyway? And who thought it was a good idea to hang all those epiphytic plants on the fence, plants that need lots of moisture so as not to dry out?
  4. Level changes are interesting design-wise, but make it hard to get around a garden. Ya, so that sunken patio of ours, two feet lower than the rest of the back garden, I needed Andrew's help to get the knee scooter down there. Every. Single. Time. Thankfully most of the containers on the patio are filled with xeric plants... and those that are not could be hit with a carefully aimed hose nozzle on the "jet' setting. Still, patio time has been almost nil over the last few weeks. I plan to make up for that starting immediately.
  5. Anyone who asks what you’re doing with all the extra time—they've never broken an ankle, leg, or arm. Everything that you normally do (making the bed, taking a shower, watering plants, making dinner) takes five times as long when you're doing it with one leg—if you can do it at all. I read no extra books or watched any extra TV/YouTube during this time. Not even close. I was exhausted at the end of the day and fell asleep fast. Although of course I woke up every time I needed to turn over, something very difficult to do while wearing a cast or boot.
But it wasn't all bad! For example I learned that my front garden really is drought tolerant summer dry adapted and able to withstand extreme heat. I also learned that I have an an amazing network of gardening friends here in Portland.

The day I came home from getting the broken angle "surgery required" diagnosis I freaked out and posted on Facebook asking for help with watering. I wasn't thinking clearly, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do that most basic and important of tasks. The response I got from friends offering help was nothing short of extraordinary. I was (and still am) in awe of how kind everyone was. 

My panic then morphed into the stage where I realized all the work that I enjoy (or mostly enjoy) doing in the garden wasn't going to happen. Trimming, mowing, edging, clean-up, regular garden maintenance wasn't going to be possible (not to mention all the creative "designy" things I love to do)—for almost two months! A new level of worry ensued. Several friends were ahead of me on this and offers of help, and names of those who could help started rolling in. That's when a message from Tiffany at Quick & Dirty Gardens showed up: "Word on the street is you have a booboo. How can I help??" I'd met Tiffany a few times already and I knew she'd helped out in the garden of my friend Linda Callahan. Tiffany ended up becoming my garden angel Wonder Woman—note the headband on her straw hat, that's no accident!...


Those of you who know me know I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my garden, it's also a very personal space. I could never have imagined it would feel so comfortable having someone else here, working. Tiffany made it so easy. On more than one occasion she tended to something in exactly the way I would have done it, without my even asking. Damn. So that's the last thing I learned, good gardening help is a blessing.
Here Tiffany is pruning a branch off my deformed Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida', something I'd been pondering for over a year but she got right to with her long-reach pruners.

If you're a Portland area gardener I definitely recommend Tiffany for garden consulting (new house/new gardener), as well as expertly maintaining established gardens. She has a degree in Horticulture and 20 years experience gardening professionally here in the PNW. In her "free" time it's still garden focused as she volunteers at Portland's Japanese Garden and spends time out in the wild hunting mushrooms. She also has an Etsy shop where she sells handmade masks, bags, headbands, macrame plant hangers, houseplant poles, and more. She says the best place to connect with her is on Instagram, you can also find her on Facebook.
Bye bye bloomed out Echium wildpretii! Tiffany made quick work of the tall dying plants.

Meanwhile I will be slowly getting reacquainted with my garden, on my own two feet...

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All material © 2009-2021 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

28 comments:

  1. I'm glad you received good news on your birthday, and Happy Birthday!
    People forget to appreciate their good health and physical abilities. We are only reminded of our good fortune when something goes wrong. I'm impressed that you were able to ask for help, not everyone could, and the long line of helpers is a testament to the excellent gardening community you are part of. After experiencing the scooter, are you considering changing the paver and/or gravel paths?

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    1. Thank you! If I hadn't asked for help I would be in such a bad place mentally, the garden would be falling apart and I would have a very deep hole to dig myself out of. No changes planned... just food for thought.

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  2. It's hard enough being an aging gardener. I can barely imagine what you have been going through. I totally agree about all the wonderful design effects we put in our gardens that are problems when you are not mobile. We made sure we had a wheelbarrow path to get around with no steps or stepping stones. But I don't think it would work for anything but someone pushing a barrow as much of it is narrow and sloped. Glad you got some good news and can get started on the next phase. But it is shocking how long it all takes.

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    1. "But it is shocking how long it all takes"... so true. Andrew's been planning a vacation for this autumn that will mean a lot of walking. I'm wondering if I'll be able to do it!

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  3. Yep, I remember that--everything took a lot longer, plus it hurt doing it. Happy to hear you are on the mend and that your garden survived in good shape. Best wishes for successful PT.

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  4. Just went on Tiffany's Etsy shop and ordered a sweet cactus material bag! Love her items! Even when bad things happen, they often lead to good things and Tiffany is sure a good thing!!!

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    1. Tiffany is a good thing! Hope you enjoy your bag.

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  5. A belated happy birthday! I'm glad you've reached the next important step on the road to recovery - and I'm glad you found Tiffany. If garden help like that exists in my area, I've yet to find it - there are many garden services available but they're not staffed with gardeners. My service providers regularly trim the ridiculous number of hedges I inherited with this garden but that's all I can say. My husband and I decided we could trim two dead branches earlier this week and we both ended up with injuries when he half toppled from a ladder on uneven ground, bringing me down with him as I attempted to help him. No broken bones but we've got some technicolor bruises and his back is twigged out. Observing from a distance, I'd say you've managed around your limitations quite well but I've no doubt that it's still frustrating the hell out of you.

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    1. Tiffany's plant knowledge was a huge reason I felt comfortable with her working in the garden. Definitely not a mow and blow kind of gal, although thankfully she did do that too! And yikes! I'm glad neither of you ended up with broken bones!

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  6. Glad you're onto a walking boot, heading in the right direction, Loree. Gees, maybe with your recent experience, you can start designing handicapped accessible gardens!

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    1. I certainly see the ways things could be better... raised beds for everyone!

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  7. PlantPantherJuly 21, 2021

    Good to hear that you are on the mend! I had shoulder surgery years ago, on the side of my dominant hand...it was a challenge, especially since I live alone, but as you know, you just have to persevere and have tons of patience when everything simple takes forever! And I can't say enough good things about physical therapy. True, it is at times quite painful, and frustrating, and exhausting, but if you stick with it as advised by your therapist, you will be happy in the end when you recover most/all of your previous function and strength. You can do it :)

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    1. Thank you for the positive vibes... and yes, I know a few folks who didn't faithfully do their PT and have limitations they wouldn't have had.

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  8. AnonymousJuly 21, 2021

    I was also middle aged when I broke my (left) ankle. I flew home from Europe 2 weeks after the surgery and used the crutches to get on and off planes. After I got home a friend recommended a knee scooter, but I wanted to drive. A scooter doesn't help you get in and out of a car, but crutches do. Let me tell you, I developed a lot more upper body strength!

    So my advice is to try both. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

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    1. Crutches aggravate an issue I have with my neck/cervical spine so they make things worse. But if you can do it I certainly see the advantages.

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  9. AnonymousJuly 21, 2021

    I'm so pleased to hear you are in a walking boot and making progress. I'll bet it feels good. You go, girl!!!

    Tiffany is a god-send. I think there are very few talented garden helpers out there like her. If she were here, I'd hire her.

    After I had a hip replaced, I changed the access to my garden to make it easier as I age. Before the hip replacement, I had a deck with very short narrow stairs that turned. The handrail ended before the last step (why?), which caused me to stumble and almost fall especially if I had to go out at night. I'm not a spring chicken so I installed a new deck (it was rotting) and replaced the narrow steps with 8' wide steps made of three 2x4's each (12") and a big handrail that goes all the way down. It's great.

    Oh, and Belated Happy Birthday!

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    1. Thanks for the b-day wishes! One of the first things we did when we bought this house was cut away the ugly (completely inappropriate style-wise) wrought iron railing around the front steps. We were young then...

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  10. You are definitely blessed. I am so glad to read that you are recovering well.

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  11. Who would have ever thought that a walking boot and crutch would almost be like having wings? Lots of hard work plus discomfort ahead, but you will be upright and on your way to having your life back! You are definitely moving forward. Congratulations, this is the best present ever!

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    1. Seriously. Although after one day of drudging around in pain "wings" are not the analogy that comes to mind...

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  12. Our computers are having such browser issues, with the result that I'm very behind on reading -- happy belated birthday! I'm so glad you're almost into the PT phase, and hooray for Tiffany! Boo apocalyptic climate-change-driven heat waves! Hooray for Andrew the sprinkler mover! And bravo to you for orchestrating everything from your boot and crutches and not falling into despondency. You've really been given some lemons this summer and I admire how you've handled the sour fruit...

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    1. Thanks Denise, it definitely has been an interesting few months...

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  13. Glad you are up on your feet again. Your comments provide food for thought when contemplating aging in place. If I can make a suggestion with your walking boot: wear a shoe on the other foot that has a thicker sole. Found the difference in heights between boot and regular shoe aggravated my knees.

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    1. Definitely. It took me awhile but I figured that one out.

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  14. Hooray for PT ! I know you are very motivated-one of the benefits of being a gardener. It would be quit difficult to find a 'Tiffany' here-there is no real horticultural community in Napa. If I lived in Berkley or the east bay it would probably be a different matter.Thumbs uo to Andrew for stepping in where he could-and his great hardscape creds makes him an honorary gardener whether he likes it or not !!

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