Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older

by Sydney Eddison

From the winner of the National Garden Club's Award of Excellence

Although the garden may beckon as strongly as ever, the tasks involved—pulling weeds, pushing wheelbarrows, digging holes, moving heavy pots—become increasingly difficult, or even impossible, with advancing age. But the idea of giving it up is unthinkable for most gardeners. So what’s the alternative?

In Gardening for a Lifetime , Sydney Eddison draws on her own forty years of gardening to provide a practical and encouraging roadmap for scaling back while keeping up with the gardening activities that each gardener loves most. Like replacing demanding plants like delphiniums with sturdy, relatively carefree perennials like sedums, rudbeckias, and daylilies. Or taking the leap and hiring help—another pair of hands, even for a few hours a week, goes a long way toward getting a big job done.

This new edition features an additional chapter describing how Sydney’s struggles with hip and back problems forced her to walk the walk. As a friend of hers says, “Last summer you wrote the book. Now, I’m happy to see that you’ve read it.” Gentle, personable, and practical, Gardening for a Lifetime will be welcomed by all gardeners looking to transform gardening from a list of daunting chores into the gratifying, joyful activity it was meant to be.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Nature, Autobiography, Memoir

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Sydney Eddison has written seven books on gardening. She has been honored by National Garden Clubs Inc. with their Award of Excellence for 2010. For her work as a writer, gardener, and lecturer, she has also received the Connecticut Horticultural Society’s Gustav A. L. Melquist Award in 2002; the New England Wild Flower Society’s Kathryn S. Taylor Award in 2005; and in 2006, The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut’s Bronze Medal. Her garden has been featured in magazines and on television. A former scene designer and drama teacher, Eddison lectures widely and is a frequent contributor to Fine Gardening magazine and other publications.

Reviews

[Ginny Messina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The (non-grammatical) subtitle of this book is “How to Garden Wiser as you Grow Older,” but it is actually a great book for anyone who simply doesn’t have time to keep up with the garden they have created. Sydney Eddison says “It took a great deal of time and energy to make the garden as hard to manage as it ultimately became…” I know the feeling very well. This is a delightful book—very chatty and fun to read and filled with really good advice. No photos—just some nice black and white drawings to illustrate her points. I’ve taken it out of the library twice, and think I’m going to buy a copy to keep for reference.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book and timely! My gardening takes longer every year. Need to garden smarter. Enjoyably written and excellent advice.

[Jo Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend had my number when she gave me this book as a gift...I know the time to cut down on my beloved gardening is somewhere around the corner...yet I am rather in denial. This author is so honest about where she was some years ago when she was in the exact same place as I, so her honesty and sharing about how she struggled to maintain a beautiful garden, yet cut down on the expense and high maintenance, is invaluable. I also learned a lot about new plants and their habits (yes, Author Eddison, the book also nudged me to try MORE rather than less, at times.), and there are lovely illustrations about the author's gardens. So, I am still rather in denial, and not too much willing to make many changes...but my mind and heart are whirling and considering, and should I continue to make some changes to make gardening easier, my husband will also be indebted to the author.

[Rosario Beltran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I like the book because it showed me a lot about plants and gave me a website to search on and it was amazing. This was also interesting because it was actually teaching us how to grow a garden. I recommend this book who love gardening as a hobby. I also recomend this book for people who like interesting stuff.

[Connie D]

This is a hard book to evaluate. It clearly is not for everyone. Not everyone is a gardener. Not everyone is getting old. But many aging gardeners are trying to figure out how to make their lives as gardeners easier....and are also interested in how others are doing and experiencing it. It's for that group of people. I fit in that group.

Sydney Eddison is a much more avid gardener than I am and also older, but I enjoyed reading about her gardening journeys.

This book is especially useful as way to reflect and ponder on choices (rather than a how-to gardening book), although she does include specific suggestions on how to simplify gardening chores.

There are many poignant thoughts about life, nature, and the process gardening.

I love this quote from Stanley Kunitz, "You're helping to create a living poem..."

[Kim Walls · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected the author has a love of gardening, a huge garden by my standards and it’s been a labour of love she shared with her husband and like-minded friends. Her insights about gardening and aging are wonderful and made me rethink some of my own plans. I loved this book and would happily read it again in the future, to again enjoy the journey through the authors writing and the many friends it brought into her life. I will read it again, some time, to remind myself to keep enjoying and sharing the gift of gardening.

[Neesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a lovely little book that was relevant and enjoyable despite being intended for an older audience than myself. I got some great ideas and can’t wait to apply them to my garden this year!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five years or so ago, I read Sydney Eddison’s book A Patchwork Garden and fell in love with gardening books in general, and Sydney Eddison’s work in particular. Recently widowed and now approaching the age of eighty, she has had to learn to chance her gardening style as her ability to handle the heavy work lessens. I find that the kind of low-maintenance gardening she has adapted fits my desires very well, even though I am still young enough to spend whole days digging and mulching. Her beloved daylilies, for example, used to require two hours of nightly dead-heading! Two hours! I definitely prefer plants that don’t cry out for that kind of attention. (My poor daylilies are rarely dead-headed at all!)

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has occurred to me that I am no longer as limber and capable of bending over for hours, so I may need to simplify my gardens.
This book gives an overall approach to simplifying the garden, such as substituting shrubs for perennials, making lists of tasks, letting part of your lawn become a meadow, etc.
The author also makes specific suggestions about types of plants/bushes that are easy care.
The book is interesting and has given me some things to think about!

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most experienced gardeners will already know the advice that Sydney Eddison shares in this book but it is a good reminder to us all that as we age we need to simplify, reduce our perfectionist expectations, and move our gardens towards shrubs to minimize the work necessary to maintain them. Eddison's book is a warm memoir which was a delight to read.

[Regina Mastrogiacomo · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a fan of this author, you will like this book. Otherwise, it has some good idea on how to downsize your garden or make it easier as you get older to take care of it.
I would have liked to see color pictures of her garden and the plants she talks about.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is for more serious gardeners who need to cut back. I was hoping for more ideas and inspiration. Accept imperfections, as it says on the cover is probably the most helpful.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of it was interesting but the title is very misleading. I'd thought it was a how-to of tips for older or possibly disabled gardeners to help them keep gardening. Instead, it was a rambling description of the author's extensive gardens on their almost 5 acre property in Connecticut and how she eventually had to get rid of some of her favorite plants and decrease the gardens because she could no longer do as much in it. Apparently she and her husband were on the wealthy side because even long before she grew older they hired various horticulture students and others to do a lot of the heavy lifting and she laments how she can't afford having someone enough hours now to do it all. Well, wake up lady, most of us don't have our own gardeners or landscapers; we do it ourselves or it doesn't get done.
She describes some friends in similar situations (mostly widowed) who ended up selling and buying smaller yards that they can comfortably garden in. That's about the only worthwhile tip in the entire book.

[pepper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the title and description, this book does not really read like a "how-to" or offer a "roadmap" as claimed. It is much more casual, rambling, and personal as the author talks about past and present experiences in her own life and garden, as well as her friends. It ends with her basically saying that she doesn't know the answers (regarding how she will still garden as she continues to age) and she is still figuring it out. Nonetheless, the book was enjoyable for me even as someone who is far from old age. It's worth noting that she doesn't ever talk about growing food. This book only discusses landscaping type gardening. There are random tips throughout, as well as tidbits of information about various plants. The index in the back makes it easy to find which page(s) she mentions a particular plant. Overall, I thought the book was interesting, as well as a bit sad at times if I'm being honest.

[Merrill Medansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for gardeners of any age who need or want to simplify their garden maintenance because of diminished ability or time. Faced with the choice of remaining in her home and beloved gardens or relocating and downsizing, Eddison learned, and shares, lessons that caused her to rethink traditional garden design.
Eddison describes practical ways she and others have opted for "well behaved" perennials, eliminated lawn, planned and scheduled tasks, and replaced high maintenance perennials with low maintenance shrubs.
Many of her approaches are known to experienced gardeners, as they were to her, but helpers with a new and unbiased eye enabled her to see opportunities that she'd overlooked.
Filled with specific plant suggestions, this is a practical book that can become a favorite reference.

[Tamara Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I am approaching old age, I am looking for ways to simplify my garden to make life easier. Sydney gave me a whole lot of good ideas. She was able to hire quite a lot of help, which is not an option for me. But still, there are some really good things to think about and, if you have to leave your place behind, ways to continue to garden in just about any space including container and bonzai gardening.

[Jeanette MacNeille]

As chance would have it, I previously read a wonderful article in Fine Gardening by this same author. She elaborates her point from that article here: How you garden change necessarily with the seasons and over time, and also as you age. So how you address those changes is worth considering. I enjoyed it.

[Linda Mcdermitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sydney Edison, winner of the National Gardening Club’s Award for Excellence, writes this book to help other gardeners devise methods to downsize and still keep a garden as they age. I would have given her higher marks, but she leans quite heavily on the shoulders of hired help and the help of friends, which really goes without saying. Still, a nice read.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad I read this work by a lifetime gardener and published author from Connecticut. My sister Kathleen recommended. It was a timely selection because abuse I had begun to fret about how I was going to manage my gardens in the ensuing years. I have a better idea now how I can reduce the workload and keep enjoying this interesting and satisfying hobby.

[Gary McCallister · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had already figured out most of her “solutions”. She has a nice chatty style, but it mostly obvious. Her perspective is from the English Garden side of things, so it has some stuff which doesn’t really aaply to the American Southwest.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for avid gardeners who are not 25 anymore or have any physical limitations. Nice reminder that gardens, like people, can adapt.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for the older gardener. Full of excellent ideas. I’ve read it twice and plan to read it again. As I age, I find more and more ideas to adopt

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure.

[Paula Bartlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book. I was looking for gardening ideas and ended up reading a mini memoir. Plus I got my gardening ideas. Sydney has a lovely writing style.

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good ideas and strategies for aging while gardening. Not there yet, but I see it coming.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting thoughts about the changes gardeners might want to make in their garden plans to allow enjoyment of their gardens and accommodate either aging or changing time commitments.

[Gardening in Town · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nice book to read by the fire while you dream of the spring.

[Angelika · Rating 3 out of 5]

lovely drawings, good advice, liked to chapter "gleanings"

[Tessa Ramos · Rating 1 out of 5]

the gardening memoirs of a rambling old woman, a few good tips if you skip to the bullet points. definitely reads like it’s written for a close circle of friends.

[Karen Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sydney Eddison is warm, practical, humorous, grateful and, yes, wise. As gardeners get older we still have the grand schemes and pictures in our heads for our gardens, but our bodies, and often our finances, are no longer cooperative. Mrs. Eddison tells us how she, and several of her gardening friends have made the adjustment to smaller gardens, or low care gardens, or contrainer gardens, so they can garden as long as possible. The first step, of course, is to accept the reality of one's limits. The next is to decide what plants you can't live without. I don't about you, but my list is too long and has too many plants that require a lot of attention. As in all other areas of life, compromises will have to be made. This book is not long, but it is sympathetic and helpful. Having recently turned 60, and with a creaky hip, and very ambitious plans still, of course, "Gardening for a Lifetime" has provided both a reality check, and ideas and plans for the future.