Question for Hystersister Gardeners who became Princesses

I will be having a hysterectomy this spring (March or April....hopefully March) and I am an avid "southern" gardener. I am very concerned that the time of the year that I will be having this surgery and in recovery is the same time of the year that I am very active in my yard preparing the beds, mulching, weeding, dividing plants and planting new ones. Of course I know that I will not be able to do all of those things after surgery.

Here is my question though.......what have you fellow gardeners been able to do during recovery and to what extent? I am planning to be very careful and not jeapordize my recovery in any way. But, I am a bit depressed thinking the garden will be off limits. So, is there any hope of fulfilling that gardening jones during the 6 week recovery? Tell me your experiences please!

Hello.
Well, if you are having a slit in your belly (tah), like I did, give it up!! I was thinking I was going to jump right out of bed after the first week and do all kinds of things!! WRONG!! I had my surgery Dec 18th, and I'm still very slow about doing anything physical! You dont want to do anything that will pull your stitches out - inside ones or outside - and with both types of surgery you will have inside stitches!! Take baby steps!
Good Luck!!
Debbie

Hi JoJoW,

I'm a gardener in Southern California. What I did *before* heading to the castle was all the heavy work I could squeeze in. I hauled trailers full of manure from the horse pen to the veggie garden, brought in a truckload of sand to add, built a concrete block border w/mow strip around the whole thing. The morning of my surgery I was out rototilling the whole thing. Now it has a good two months during our rainy season to settle, rot, turn into healthy soil, and grow a good crop of earthworms. I think all the heavy work really helped me be in better shape for the surgery/recovery, so you can think of it as therapy. Heck, give yourself a real workout and double-dig your veggie beds. Be sure to get it done though! If, at 3-5 weeks, you're feeling up to marking out rows, planting baby plants, etc., but you don't have your soil ready, you'll be stuck for at least another 4 weeks before you can tackle that heavier work.

As far as what you can do during recovery (based solely on my own experience)...

Week One: Browse through seed catalogs and plan new projects. Make lists, sketch things. Watch gardening programs on TV. Read. Order stuff (seeds, peat pots, etc.) via phone or on the web. Sleep, and dream about homegrown tomatoes.

Week Two: Water things. Move the hose short distances, turn it on, turn it off. Great for taking short "walks" every hour. Set the timer so you don't forget. Wait by the door for UPS to deliver all the stuff you ordered.

Week Three: Very light weeding, for short periods. Water the day before, so they come up easy. Don't pull and tug! We're not clear of frost danger yet, but if we were I'd have been able to poke seeds into the *already prepared ground* during week three. (No raking or shoveling yet!) I'd think you could do a lot of seed starting (in little pots and trays) at this point, if the timing is right for you. Have someone else carry heavy trays full of little plants. Pruning! If you can, wander around snipping here and there, and have someone else rake up the mess you make. Start new plants from clippings. Take it easy on any bending or reaching though.

Week Four: I'm at week four, and haven't done a lot, 'cause it's been raining. But I've been able to do a little very light-duty raking and sweeping. I feel up to doing pretty much anything listed above, plus maybe potting plants, planting little plants (like the kind that come in "pony-paks" or 4" posts) - not 1+ gallon ones though. If you must shovel, take little shovels-full of *loose* soil, and *walk* over to where you want it. Do not whirl around and pitch it 10 feet like you're used to doing!

I've listed a lot of tasks you might be able to do, but do only little bits of them. Maybe 20 minutes in the morning, and 20 minutes in the afternoon. If you make a big mess (pruned bits on the sidewalk, pulled weeds lying all over the lawn...), then you get tired, leave the mess and go rest. Don't push yourself.

Now (pre-surgery) might be a good time to...
- Buy/build a potting bench, so you can work standing or seated on a chair/stool.
- Stock up on seeds, starter mix, rooting hormone, little "greenhouse" trays - anything you might need for lightweight gardening projects during the first few weeks.
- Call every company you can think of (Henry's, Gardener's, Smith & Hawkin, etc.) and order their catalogs.
- Buy a short plastic stool (like for stepping up on) for sitting while weeding or planting. Or better, one of those padded bench things with the metal arms to help you get up and down (in gardening catalogs - looks like a shower seat for gardeners).
- Get a weed-popper or other "stand-up" weeding tool.
- Build a set of shelves with bright fluorescent lights, where you can putter for hours starting new plants for your garden.
- See if your local nursery will deliver things you order by phone (for a fee?), in case you want anything before you're up to driving.
- Buy a couple of "ladies'" gardening tools. All my shovels and rakes are the very heavy metal kind w/yellow fiberglass handles - too heavy for "recovery" use.
- Set up things as much as possible so you don't need to do much to maintain them while you are recovering. If you need 300' of hose to reach the far corner of the yard, lay it out before you head to the castle, for instance, so you don't have to haul it around (or let your plants die) afterward.
- Develop a tolerance for weeds. Some have nice flowers, and many attract beneficial insects. Learn to love 'em, at least for this season.

I hope that helps. Happy Gardening!
[Edited by HorseWoman on 01-14-2001]

Hello fellow gardener. I am currently a LIW as my surgery isn't scheduled until Feb. 20, so I can't really give you any pointers as to "after", but you mentioned your surgery will be planned for March or April. If you're able to, maybe you could plan it for later in April and then you could get as much done as gardening calender time permits (preparing beds, etc) before your surgery date. I know from reading past posts that you shouldn't (or won't feel like) doing much bending, kneeling, digging for a while. And you definitely shouldn't be lifting heavy stuff like bags of mulch or pushing around a wheelbarrow. You didn't mention whether you're having a vaginal or abdominal procedure. Of course it doesn't really matter which one you have...the healing that takes place on the inside is the same and you have to be very careful that you don't do any damage to those healing tissues during that six week recovery. I love to garden and am glad my surgery isn't later in the spring for me for that very reason. I understand your jonesing though, haha! I live in Utah where the spring season comes later than in the south. For me I should be ending my six week recovery during the first week in April, but I have a few rose bushes that will need pruned in late March. I hope I feel well enough at least to do that. If you need to have the surgery earlier in March, is there someone in your family or a neighbor or friend that can come help you do the heavy/prepratory work in your garden? Maybe some students or youth group from a local church, who are looking for some volunteer projects? Contact a local gardening group or your county extension office...they may know of some people to help. Maybe they could (with your instructions/supervision - no hands on though!) turn over the beds, do the raking and bed cleaning, add and dig in the compost, do the spring pruning. Maybe your perennials that need divided can wait till fall? Or maybe you could set up a temporary bed for the divisions and then after your recovery you can set them where you want? Then more towards the end of your six week recovery time (that last week) all that would need to be done is some planting of transplants or new starts? That you could do sitting or kneeling - try one of those rolling benches for the garden (if you don't have one already?) Something else I just thought of...(an idea that just popped in my head - don't know if it would work for sure)...to help prevent you from doing any heavy lifting even after you've finished your six week recovery would be to have your mulch or compost in a container like a trash can or bin that has a lid and put some casters on the bottom so you would only have to roll it around instead of lifting and carrying. There may be something out on the market like that already I don't know. Good luck with your garden and with your upcoming surgery!

BrendaC - Your idea of putting compost, etc. in something that rolls is a great one. I'd suggest a wagon! I have some of those wheeled trash cans, and they take a lot of abs to keep them headed in the right direction. A wagon would kinda roll along on it's own better, I think.

For pruning you might get a long-handled pruner (the handles on mine telescope, so it gets even longer). That would let you reach higher/lower without so much stretching or bending. Those really long ones, with the loppers on one end, and a rope to work them, are out. Too much ab work to control them. We have something like that for picking avocados, and there's no way I could use it at this point.

If it helps any, I can tell you from years of experience that roses will survive not being pruned, or even being pruned at the wrong time. They are tough plants. If you really are fussy, and/or have lots of rose bushes, find your local rose society and ask if they know someone who can help you. The one here just took on a huge public rose garden as a training project - they taught lots of newbies how to prune, and dealt with the whole (huge) garden in one day.
[Edited by HorseWoman on 01-14-2001]

Linda....great suggestion about the wagon...I hadn't thought of that, but sounds better than the trash can/bin on wheels. Grass or gravel can be tiresome to pull or push something big over even when you haven't had abdominal surgery! I think I will look for a wagon of my own. I only have two big rose bushes to prune, so it won't be a big deal for me...I'll employ my two kids or some of the neighbor kids to do the upper arm work.

Thanks HorseWoman and BrendaC!!!
You have both given me great ideas and great hope!! I am printing out your posts so that I can review them later to keep my spirits up and remember all of the helpful steps and hints. HorseWoman, the kind of gardening preparation you described doing at your home is the type of gardening I am use to doing! All the heavy things by myself...because I love doing all of it. And as you said, the physical benefits are fabulous. I do have a wonderful husband who has said he would help do the heavy stuff because he knows it is going to drive me absolutely crazy!!! So, in that sense I will have the helping hands. I have a 12 yr. old daughter who helps me some also and will really pitch in with her Dad. So, I am not without support. I have thought of hiring some neighborhood pre-teens and teens to do some of the mundane "weeding" and other things so I don't totally burn out my family! They enjoy the benefits of my labors in the garden but do not have the addiction I have to it!!! Thanks again for the labor and equipment hints. I will concentrate on lots of prep before hand. I have thought of postponing my surgery to get through that gardening period of time that is so critical.....but I am so anxious to get on with my life after healing that I am willing to sacrifice the time and live with a less than satisfactory garden....but with all of your hints, there are things I can look forward to participating in. Just what I needed to hear.....Thanks again!!