Toni Gattone - The Lifelong Gardener: Garden with Ease & Joy at Any Age

Toni Gattone

The Lifelong Gardener

Garden with Ease & Joy at Any Age

I am blessed with a large loving Italian family and many friends who gave me the confidence to follow my dreams and to complete this book.

My Mom, Giovanna Jiampa Gattone, (also known as Jaye), was the first to see me and love me unconditionally. She always told me I could do whatever I set my mind to do. Mom was graced with an extraordinarily kind, caring, and generous heart. She was a great cook, and everyone who knew her, loved her. Thanks, Mom. In retrospect, the bad back I inherited from you led me to this adaptive gardening path.

I would not be who I am, or where I am today, if it werent for the love and support my husband, Tim King, has given me over three decades of joyful married life. Tim saw the potential in me before I did, and with his wicked sense of humor, he reminded me not to take myself too seriously. He is the King of Being, and I am the Queen of Doing. While writing this book, I might have starved if it werent for him bringing me lunch and making sure I had a cocktail or glass of wine at five oclock. Thank you, Tim. You are the true joy of my life. I could not have done this without you. 143.

My sisters, Carole Gattone Arliskas and Dianne Gattone, have been cheering me on throughout the years, even as I continued to be a seekersomething they didnt always understand, but respected. Once I removed the nail from my foot that kept me going around in circles, I found my path, and they were there beside me, celebrating each milestone with love and joy.

Close and long-term friends, Nancy Harvey, Ellie Mitchell, Judith Henderson, Bren Taylor, Barbara Luttig-Haber, Carla Daro, Karen Turcotte, Bob Lasser, John Williams, and Lindsay Laven, thank you for your support, love, and friendship over so many years. You listened when I needed you and cheered me on.

Friends in my local Marin Master Gardener chapter, thank you for all the stories you shared with me when you discovered your own new normal in your garden and for all your suggestions on tools and techniques that worked for you. To Pat Randolph and Alanna Brady, thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to present my adaptive gardening talk to our community at public seminars. That reinvigorated my speaking career.

Last but certainly not least, to my dear friend, Heidi Hornberger, who jumped in with two feet to be, first, my photographer, then my collaborator for this book. Thank you, Heidi, for your keen eye, your renewed love of gardening, and your joyful approach to life. You made this project one of laughter, ease, and gratitude.

Mille Grazie!

The year I became a Master Gardener, I couldnt wait to apply the information Id learned so I could transform my garden. With my bad back, I knew the last thing I should be doing was wrestling with heavy thingslike this one concrete pot I wanted to movebut I did it anyway.

For more than a week after, I was flat on my back and could barely walk. Getting out to my garden was impossible.

Laid out on my sofa, I could see my roses needed deadheading, but the pain was so bad, all I could do was take another pill.

Two weeks later, I was still on my back. I felt useless and was beginning to feel sorry for myself. I decided I had to find some way to adapt so I could garden again.

As soon as I thought the word adapt, a light bulb went off in my head! On a recent trip to Oregon, Id read an article on adaptive gardening in a newspaper called Boomer and Senior News. I remembered commenting to my husband, Tim, Isnt that redundant? I mean: Boomers and seniors?

I took another pain pill so I could get off the darned sofa. Bracing myself on furniture and door frames, I set off on a mission to find that article in my office at the other end of the house. I looked everywhere, through every file and drawer, until by some miracle, I found it.

It told the story of two women in Oregon who were helping seniors adapt their gardens to accommodate their changing ability levels. The womens clients wanted to ensure they could continue with their passion despite their aches and pains. I could relate to that. My own physical limitations seemed to be growingI knew my back problem was chronic, and I didnt want to stop gardening. One particular line in the article stuck with me: Garden smarter, not harder, so you can garden for life. Bingo!

I spent the rest of my sofa time with my laptop on my stomach, researching adaptive gardening. I found out there are 78 million boomers on their way to becoming seniors and felt like screaming from the rooftop when I realized: Im not alone!

Eventually my back healed and I went back to work. After a few months of working with Master Gardeners, I wanted to find a way to share my love of gardening with my community, so I started presenting public seminars like Edible Landscaping and Growing Edibles in Containers. I noticed right away that the majority of our audiences were seniors. It turns out, Marin County is one of the oldest populations in Californiaone in four residents is over sixty years old. I envisioned being of service to those seniors and gardeners with limited mobility issues, by helping them understand how they could adapt their gardens now so they wouldnt have to re-do them or (worse) abandon them later.

I feel grateful to have the opportunity to share this important message with you. Thank you, Stacee Gravelle Lawrence, acquisitions editor at Timber Press, for calling me after hearing my presentation at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle and asking if Id be interested in writing this book. What a life-changing journey this has been.

My generation, the Boomers, doesnt want to give up the things we love just because were getting older. NEVER GIVE UP is our motto. My purpose for writing this book is to share what I have learned about how to keep gardening, even when your back or knees are screaming at you.

Come with me, as we walk the path of adaptive gardening together. No matter what happens, we will never give up what feeds our soul.

Gardening is one of the healthiest activities for anyone, but especially for seniors. It gets you out of the house, into nature and fresh air. It also involves bending and stretching, which can help with flexibility and balance, increasing your strength and ultimately, your range of motion.