Gardens are for everyone and provide so many benefits. There are lots of ways those with sight loss can adapt and experience the positive impacts that gardening can offer.
According to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), more than two million people in the UK are living with sight loss, with 340,000 people being registered blind or partially sighted. Each person living with sight loss is affected differently and will find their own ways of gardening that suits their needs.
If you are just starting out on your gardening journey with limited sight, Anna Tylor, the RNIB’s Chair of Trustees and Colin Brown, member of an RNIB Facebook group that brings together gardeners with sight loss, have shared their top tips to help you get the most out of your experience.
1) Make safety a priority
Keeping safe in your garden is the most important thing. Ensure there is plenty of space to move around and aim to develop a deep knowledge and understanding of your outdoor space. There shouldn’t be too many levels and avoid a rockery. It isn’t practical – it’s a trip hazard and you don’t want to end up falling flat on your face.
Anna Tylor was born with sight loss and has gone from being partially sighted to severely sight impaired. “In my garden, I have three steps leading from my patio to the grass and I have sprayed a pink dot on the edge of each one. I have trouble seeing the difference in surface when coming down them, so this helps me to identify where the steps are when I’m making my way down.”
Colin Brown, a keen gardener based in Devon, was diagnosed with a non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy around 14 years ago, which causes a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve.
His loss of sight has made it difficult for him to identify plants and find his gardening tools. Colin recommends: “Keep your garden tools clean and paint them a strong colour to make them stand out, or cover them in hazard tape for a glimpse of colour. It’s also worth keeping a seat nearby just in case you are thrown off balance.”
2) Plant what interests you
Keep it simple and straightforward; gardening should be a joy, not a chore. There is always work to do in the garden, of course, but it should be a pleasure so don’t overcomplicate it. Play it safe to start with and grow the things that interest you.
“My garden is very full now but it wasn’t like that when I started out. It was only as I had
Established plants have been in their current location for two or three years and so have well-developed root systems able to support strong growth with healthy foliage and flowers.
For Colin, any green plant is a green plant, and he adjusts his gardening with this in mind. “I mainly work with raised beds and keep a reference book and magnifying glass close by, so that I can identify plants more easily.”
3) Incorporate bright contrasting colours
Earning a Gold medal at the 2023 RHS Tatton Park Flower Show the Seeing Through the Senses Long Border, designed by Natasha Lloyd and Emma-Jayne Blair and sponsored by the RNIB, is a great example of contrasting colours within a garden. It’s not too busy with lots to feast the eyes and the hands on.
Anna doesn’t have three-dimensional vision nor any light filters in her eyes and often finds being in bright light particularly difficult, especially as a gardener.
4) Use your hands and dig in
Don’t be afraid to stick your hands in the ground and get them dirty. “I’m very tactile in my gardening,” says Anna. “Last year I had breast cancer and now I have lymphedema in my left arm, which makes me prone to infection, so I garden with a glove on that hand.
“I can’t just use a surgical glove I have got to use a proper gardening glove, that is the only way to stop me from scratching my hands. I’m adjusting to that now, but people do adjust.”
5) Appeal to your senses
Don’t be afraid to touch your garden; play with leaves and run your fingers through the grasses – being mindful of any bees. “I like grasses as well because on a cool evening you can hear plants moving,” says Anna.
“People often talk about sensory gardens; human beings get so much from the senses whether you’re sighted or not sighted.”
“Maximise your other senses through your gardening, it will make it far more enjoyable,” Colin recommends. “Spend an afternoon in the garden centre – walk around and take notice of the plants whose fragrances stand out the most to you.”
6) Grow something you can eat
You will never eat food that tastes as good as something you have grown yourself; food from the supermarket just doesn’t compare. Tomatoes are particularly easy; you can grow them in pots or in the ground.
Alternatively, if all you have is a windowsill, grow herbs, basil, thyme or oregano because it’s really fulfilling to grow things that you can cook with. Even if it’s just one ingredient, it will give you enormous satisfaction to think that you are eating something you’ve grown.
“I’m especially pleased with my single grape plant,
Transferring young plants from one container to a slightly larger one, where they will have more room to grow and fresh potting compost. This encourages continuous, healthy growth.
“If you have the space for a grape vine, it provides shade, so it’s brilliant for those who don’t like too much sun, and it’s practically maintenance free.”
As an allotment holder, Colin likes to grow his own fruit and vegetables. “I was like a proud father with a new baby when it came to my home-grown tomatoes this year. I’ve also tried my hand at sweetcorn, peppers, grapes, and have even been sharing my rhubarb with my neighbours living in the same cul-de-sac.”
7) Create a map of your garden
It’s not always possible to know what you have planted so keep a map of your garden, to help you when you’ve put new plants in. “I have a terrible habit of planting something and when it grows and changes, ripping it out thinking it’s an Invasive plants are those that grow vigorously, spread rapidly and can out-compete other plants. Native, non-native and cultivated plants can all be invasive.
If you have planted something small that tends to grow to be quite big like sweet peas, then garden canes can be useful.
8) Accept that it’s a learning process
It is a garden, it will go wrong, you will get slugs and snails, or your neighbour’s cat will come and dig it up – don’t worry about it and just accept it. “Don’t stress when you let something die, you can replace it, it’s not the end of the world. There are no fixed rules in gardening; you can do whatever you like,” says Anna.
For more information, see the Royal National Institute of Blind People’s advice for gardening with sight loss.