Low Vision friendly garden – One Vision Blog

For those of you that read my missing plant post from earlier on in this year.

You’ll maybe be glad to hear I found it.

Or rather it’s grown vivid green leaves so I can see it better.

Now to go read my own post about it as I can’t remember for the life in me what it is!

UPDATE: it’s a Dahlia Moonflower. I’ve posted a picture of what it will look like in full bloom eventually. Picture 2.

Since all the plants were taken out after my new fence was fitted. I can plan my own garden plants and where to pop them.

I’m making an accessible low vision friendly garden if you will.

A low maintenance, vision friendly space, where I’m planning and planting large plants with contrasting foliage and flowers, so I can see them better than usual if they are all similar flowers.

The large spaces are covered in bark as I cannot tell weeds (although I don’t believe in weeds to be fair. Every plant to me looks beautiful in its own way) from flowers so this will help me garden happily knowing I’ve not destroyed a bunch of newly planted flowers.
Big bold flower heads and large buds so I can try make them out.

It’s been a long time in the making but it’s nearly finished now.

I’ve got umpteen screenshots of some lovely plants which may fit the bill to be planted into my garden.

Some I’ve got to source, but I’m going to take my time as I want to get it right as I now have free rein.

I’ve this one (Still named The Lost Plant) A baby blue Hydrangea which is flowering now, a Buddleia, which will be a vibrant purple and orange flower eventually and a gorgeous olive tree.

The only thing left after the fence was put in, was my beautiful Juniper tree which I keep in a nice cute shape and hang solar light of it with other hanging bits of the branches. It’s definitely the pride and joy of the garden.

The link below is for Part 1 of The Lost Plant story if you wish to read it.

The Lost Plant (Part 1)

A vivid small green leafed plant, sits in the brown bark. In the background is a concrete and wooden fence. — PD 1 A vivid green leafed plant sits among brown bark. In the is a concrete and wooden fence.

A dark brown leafed plant with large flower heads. These are orange in the middle and the petals are yellow. — PD 2 A brown leafed plant with vibrant yellow and orange large round flower heads.

As it’s been quite lovely weather here for this time of year in little old England, I’ve carried on with my gardening seeing as I’m in full house and garden renovation mode.

The amount of bark I’ve bought is eye watering. But at least I won’t be pulling flowers up as weeds and weeds up as flowers.

For some time I’ve been making my garden ‘eye proof’

As in. The only thing that will need to be done is abit of zhuzhing, hedges trimming and lawn mowing.

I’ve got a cordless trimmer. So I cannot cut through the cord ‘cos I can’t see it.

Also I’ve got one lawn that needs cutting. I had a little one at the front that I’ve now pebbled over. Low maintenance is the word I’m also looking for.

As the years go on I notice the progression of my eye condition when I head out into the garden after a while over the winter months.

Painting my fences (the old ones) from year to year was when I noticed the difference.

When you don’t do something all the time you don’t become aware.

Picking up a paint brush and seeing the ever more blurrier fence, ended up with me painting with my reading glasses on. Was abit of a shock as in “OK. That’s alot worse than last year.”

Then when I was proud of myself for tackling this instead of getting someone to do it for me, someone said “Is it finished? It’s patchy”

I stood back and it was.

It’s OK though. This is the way it’s going to be.

I can’t feel sorry for myself.

I have though, lost a plant.

Not lost it misplaced it.

Lost it after I planted it.

So I had new fences installed earlier in the year. The old ones were hanging on by a thread. Each storm I looked out of the window, one eye open, wondering if they’d survive.

Me and my neighbour kept propping them up until we couldn’t anymore.

The workmen did a good job (Apart from hitting a water pipe, I can’t even go there) All the previous bark was all mulched in the soil during the work, so I had to start again with the weed fabric and the litres upon litres of bark.

Can you tell I’m fed up of it 😁

Now is my chance to redesign the garden and have what plants I’d like in there.

The old ones have gone. Some by accident, some by design.

Some I Google lensed them while walking around if I came across a plant I liked in somebody else’s garden.

Once I’d found out the name, I bought them ready to plant.

My sister helped me go get an olive tree to plant as it would match my gorgeous juniper tree. That was a funny day getting that in the back of a camper van.

My lost plant is a Dahlia Moonfire. Beautiful brown black leaves with big bright yellow flowers. I found this waiting for the bus from my boyfriends house. It’s across from the bus stop in someone’s garden, so I nipped across, leant over, Google lens, jobs a good ‘en.

I cannot see it.

I’ve planted it. I’ve tried to feel for it. It has green buds on. Still can’t see it. I’ve got on my knees, I’ve walked a few feet away.

Thing is, I need to move it somewhere else I’ve decided.

If you see me sweeping my hands over the ground in my garden. I’m not losing it. I’m just trying to find the lost plant.

And no. It’s not that green plant in the photo. That’s a Buddleia ‘Flower Power’ known as a Butterfly bush. So it should attract bees and butterflies. It’s beautiful when grown. Orange and purple poker style flower buds.

I’ve got more bark coming this week!

So I’ll be out there gardening. Making it foolproof, eye proof so when my eyesight deteriorates even more, I can come out and enjoy it without the stress of weeding and pulling up stuff I shouldn’t have. Whilst leaving the weeds.

It’s nearly done now and I’ve enjoyed doing it. I’ve had help from people who have been very kind in helping me chop things down, move stuff I can’t.

I do like to do what I can myself though. Even though those little fences you see as a border? I still have bruises on my hand from hammering my hand sometimes instead of hammering those into the ground. Until my boyfriend told me to put the hammer side ways, which did help me enormously.

Sometimes you can do things you used to do with less central vision, you just have to think out of the box.