Geoff tells us that he had been struggling with a bad knee for several years now and following an x-ray and consultation with a consultant late last year, it was finally decided that it needed to be replaced. The initial timeframe Geoff was given, suggested a 9 month wait, which would have suggested an autumn operation. Knowing that he went ahead and committed to opening his popular garden again this summer for visitors, by arrangement only.
Imagine his surprise, to learn at the end of March, that it had been brought forward to the 30th April. The one big plus for Geoff however was that it was fulfilled at the Horder Centre in Crowborough, making the whole experience a little easier to bear!
Geoff said “I tried very hard to get ahead of the game in bringing items out of store early and moving succulents, that don’t really want to leave the greenhouse until early May, out into the garden mid April.”
He went on to say that “over the last 5 years I had been experiencing frustration at not being able to kneel properly, which posed real problems when gardening, never mind anything else. So I’ve been practicing how to get by with a dodgy knee for some years now, sometimes with the aid of elasticated knee support.”
Geoff has also been diagnosed with arthritis as he has got older, in both knees but it’s also in his hands, thankfully not so bad as yet.
One of the hardest things for a hands on gardener to reconcile, especially when you are a bit of a control freak like Geoff, is the need, or indeed the necessity to rely on others to do the things in the garden that you were so used to doing yourself. Sadly, there are times, as you get older, you are going to have to ask for help with the tasks to hand or just reconcile, you need to pay AN Other to do the job for you.
20 years ago, when Geoff began the garden at Driftwood, he was a relatively fit 50 year old, newly retired and able to tackle most things in the garden. Now, 72, he can’t say the same.
Over the years Geoff has had to realise that one of the best ways to succeed in pain free gardening is to try and vary what you do. If you have a number of garden beds to weed in one day, you’ll likely be in the same position for a long period of time and that puts a lot of pressure on your back, neck, and knees. To avoid that, vary tasks to force yourself to get up, walk around, and stretch out your legs. Doing something like watering the flowers between weeding projects will help you stay limber.
Another thing to do, which is something Geoff have done religiously over the last 2 years, every single morning, in order to help his knee, is to exercise daily after he gets up.
We’ve probably all fallen into the trap of panicking and having to get the entire garden prepared and planted in one weekend. But that’s likely a lot of work for just one or two days and it’s also a good way to overdo it and end up sore or injured. It’s important to know your limits and to listen to your body. If your knees or back start to feel sore, take a break or hang up the shears for the day. Not easy I know but trust me the older you get you don’t have much choice.
Geoff says “In some ways, I’ve been slightly dreading the 2025 open garden season, having committed to take pre-booked visitors between 1st June and 3rd August through the National Garden Scheme and the BBC Gardeners’ World 2 for1 scheme. Panic set in wondering if my early surgery would prevent me from getting the garden the way I want it?”
Now the surgery is complete and Geoff has a rigorous regime of physio to undertake at home, in advance of visitors arriving, several physio sessions are booked and he hopes to be crutches free by early June.
Driftwood will now open from 16th June to 3rd August 2025 but any bookings already made will be honored between 1st June and 15th June. To book your visit email visitdriftwood@gmail.com and check out the garden website at www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk