Introductory information for blind and partially sighted gardeners
One hundred thousand blind and partially sighted people in the UK enjoy gardening as their main hobby.
This leaflet brings together information to help you get started in gardening and describes sources of further help.
Over the past 90 years, blind and partially sighted gardeners have been developing systems and techniques for gardening. Whether you are a gardener who is faced with loss of sight or a visually impaired person who is keen on developing an interest in gardening, a wealth of information is available to ensure an easy start. More importantly there are many blind and partially sighted gardeners around the UK who are keen to share their own experiences.
Thrive and Royal National Institute of the Blind with a grant by the Big Lottery Fund have developed national services to gardeners with sight problems. This has lead to the launch of the National Blind Gardeners’ Club (NBGC), which is guided by the Advisory Committee for Blind Gardeners.
The National Blind Gardeners’ Club offers you: gardening advice, advance information on special events for blind gardeners, access to a specialist gardening library, a range of booklets on gardening with a visual impairment, runs the Blind Gardener of the Year competition, and has a quarterly magazine Come Gardening (available in a variety of formats).
For further information please contact Lucy Morrell at Thrive, The Geoffrey Udall Centre, Beech Hill, Reading RG7 2AT, telephone on 0118 988 5688 or email
Please let us know what format you would like the information in or if you would like this information in another format.
Getting started
First, read all about it in:
The Getting on with Gardening books- the essential guide to gardening with a visual impairment
These books are full of tried and tested practical tips and techniques . The recently updated edition of Getting on with Gardening comes in two volumes:
Volume 1 has information on seed sowing, potting, gardening outside, tools and equipment, raised beds, preparing the ground, planting and watering.
Volume 2 expands the gardener’s knowledge with sections on taking cuttings, container growing, more gardening outside, protected growing, pruning, the lawn, pests and diseases and labelling.
Both volumes have large clear, diagrams in print or tactile versions, and a wealth of tips from gardeners including the winners of the Blind Gardener of the Year competitions.
Getting on with Gardening costs £7.50 per volume or (£5 to subscribers to Come Gardening magazine
Come Gardening – the unique magazine written by and for blind and partially sighted gardeners.
The magazine has regular features on readers’ gardens, their tips, the flower and food gardens and highlights new plants and equipment that should be of interest to gardeners with low vision.
“What have I enjoyed most about the magazine? Hearing about other readers’ gardens. I have also learnt lots from its pages over the years, and I have also enjoyed writing for our magazine-telling others about my successes and failures.” says Elisabeth Standen of Bristol.
The quarterly magazine is sent out in January, April, July and October and is available in large print, on audio CD or tape, in Braille, or via email.
The magazine has recently celebrated its 100th edition. To receive your free copy in the format of your choice please contact Thrive.
Subscription to the magazine costs £8 for one format and £10 for those who like more than one.
For gardening information on-line look at:
Thrive’s prize winning, easier gardening website www.carryongardening.org.uk
The site also has a text only format and has practical advice, tips, tool reviews and manufacturers’ contact details.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) also has a very informative website www.rhs.org.uk
For information on organic gardening look at the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) website www.hdra.org.uk
Next, come along and do it!
The National Blind Gardeners’ Club runs roadshows and day courses. These include practical workshops for people who are interested in learning some new gardening techniques, or who once enjoyed gardening but have lost confidence due to recent sight loss. Roadshows can also be for those who wish to assist people with sight problems to garden.
The club also organises residential courses where the basics of gardening can be learned. People work in small groups with a tutor and an assistant at practical workshops. This level of support ensures that participants get the most out of what is an enjoyable, busy course. There is always time for discussion and questions and for everyone to learn from each other.
Lucy will also be happy to run a special course to meet your group's needs, whether this is for visually impaired gardeners or for people working with them. Just ask her for further details of workshops, courses and costs.
Design your way to easier gardening
The great difficulty for blind and partially sighted people in gardening, as in other aspects of life, is that of orientation: knowing where you are, what part of the garden you have already worked on and where you are going. As an aid to orientation, the garden can be laid out with straight edges and right angles. Right angles for garden layout can be used with other aids and techniques in carrying out many gardening jobs.
Special design points to remember:
· Keep the plan simple, avoiding curves and intricate patterns
· Make borders no more than 120cm (4') wide if accessible from both sides, half that if accessible from one side only to avoid walking on the soil
· landmarks or reference points can be used to assist orientation
These could be:
· shrubs, trees, scented or tactile plants, ornaments and furniture
· sound items, including rustling plants, running water and wind chimes
· path materials such as gravel and bark.
Guidelines for using reference points:
· use plants that are easy to maintain e.g. require little pruning.
· Keep pathways clear of overhanging plants and choose thornless plants
· use scented plants sparingly - as a mass of scent could confuse, and hinder orientation
· recess ornaments and seating from pathways
· use vivid colours and bold materials as reference points for people with partial sight
· use changes of texture in paths to indicate changes in direction
· raised edging alongside the path can help to identify the proximity of a border or other garden features
· avoid steps if possible - a slope is better; if steps are unavoidable, provide a handrail.
A specially designed garden is the rarely found ideal. Nevertheless, each visually impaired person's garden should be based on simplicity of design for ease of use while remaining visually attractive.
Seeking advice and even help from sighted gardeners may at times prove necessary and valuable: and it might be wise, if the situation allows, to undertake only part of the garden until confidence is gained.
However, the NBGC’s work is based on encouraging self-reliance from the start, to stimulate confidence and the pleasure of achievement. People are encouraged to carry out as many operations for themselves as possible. After all, many people will not have support readily available in their gardens. So, aim at doing it yourself!
Getting on with it!
It is not possible to go into great detail in a leaflet of this size. However, here are some starter points – there is more detail in the Getting on with Gardening books.
It is advisable for gardeners with poor sight to avoid sowing seeds in the open ground. Instead, seed can be sown in seed trays or other containers and the resulting plants planted out at an early stage.
This has a number of benefits:
· it avoids wastage of often valuable seed
· it avoids the difficulties of weeding and thinning out
· it ensures that individual plants can be planted out at the right distance for future cultivation
· seed can be sown individually in small pots, or in seed trays containing 'modular' cells - readily available modular inserts for seed trays.
Later, seed trays or pots can be re-used, for rooting softwood cuttings.
With outdoor work, a wooden or plastic right-angled aid can be used both to cultivate the ground and for planting. With planting, try using a length of string that has been knotted at regular intervals. When this is pegged down, the knots can be used for accurate spacing of plants. Contact Thrive for more information on this.
Always make sure that the work you carry out in the garden is well organised. Rather than using a traditional area for vegetables, with long rows stretching across the ground, try dividing the area into small beds 1m x 1m. Each small plot can be planted with one crop and this makes it easier to identify weeds and carry out other cultivation.
Local support
In some areas, gardening groups of blind and partially sighted people have been formed. Some have been organised through a local voluntary association; some through social workers and some have grown from the driving force of a visually impaired person. Groups operate in York, Norwich, Cardiff, Newcastle and Birmingham - Thrive would be pleased to hear of any others. To contact your local group, enquire through your local voluntary association or ask Thrive; we can also give you support to start your own local club.
Getting out and about!
There are many gardens open to the public around the country, run by a variety of organisations. Most of these cater for visually impaired people and offer possibilities for an enjoyable day out. Group visits can often be arranged and in some cases guided tours of the gardens are available. Guided tours should always be booked in advance, so allow for this when planning a visit - larger gardens are often very busy with guided tours, so good notice of a visit is always required.
The largest gardens are:
· The Eden Project, Bodelva, St. Austell, Cornwall,PL24 2SG.
Tel 01726 811911 or www.edenproject.com
· The National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthe, Camarthenshire, SA32 8HG. Tel 01558 668768 or www.gardenofwales.org.uk
· Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB.
Tel 0208 332 5000 or rbgkew.org.uk For bookings, ask for the enquiry unit (parties should be booked well in advance)
· Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR, Scotland. Tel 0131 552 7171 or www.rbge.org.uk Contact their Volunteers Coordinator who is responsible for guides for the gardens. The gardens particularly encourage educational visits and run a regular schools programme, which has been attended by various schools for blind pupils
· Royal Horticultural Society's Garden, Wisley, Surrey GU23 6QB
tel 01483 224234 or www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley Party bookings can be made in advance by contacting the Administration Officer for group visits
· The Northern Horticultural Society's Gardens at Harlow Carr, Harrogate, N Yorks, HG3 1QB. Tel 01423 565418 or www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlowcarr
· HDRA, Ryton Organic Gardens, Coventry, Warwickshire, CV8 3LG
Tel: 0124 7630 3517 or email:
Other people's gardens
Each year The National Gardens Scheme publishes Gardens of England and Wales, listing gardens open on specific days. Contact them at Hatchlands Park, East Clandon, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7RT.
Tel 01483 211535.
A phone call to the garden concerned would clarify any concerns about accessibility, including whether or not you can take a guide dog. Booklets of gardens in each county are available from county organisers of the scheme, or from local bookshops or tourist information offices.
A similar scheme exists in Scotland. For details, contact The Scottish Gardens Scheme, 31 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH7 2EL.
Tel 0131 229 1870.
Several National Trust properties have Braille or large print guides for visitors, some have audio guides. Contact the National Trust at PO Box 39, Warrington, WA5 7WD. Tel 0870 458 40000, or email
For specific details please contact the particular property in advance.
For properties in Scotland, contact the National Trust for Scotland, Wemyss House, 28 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, EH2 4ET. Telephone 0131 243 9300.
For properties in Northern Ireland contact the National Trust for Northern Ireland, telephone 028 9751 0721 or www.ntni.org.uk
In wilder places
For those who want to venture further, there is, of course, the whole countryside to explore. To make this easier, the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (RADAR), publishes Leisure Time/Days Out, which gives access information on a wide range of major attractions including countryside sites and gardens. The book costs £5 and £2.50 postage and packing from RADAR, Unit 12, City Forum, 250 City Road, London, EC1V 8AF. Tel: 020 7250 3222.
The Sensory Trust has information on access to the countryside for people with a disability. Contact them at The Sensory Trust, Watering Lane Nursery, Pentewan, Cornwall, PL26 6BE, tel 017 2622 2900 or email
It is often advisable to contact the place you intend to visit to ask about facilities and explain your needs.
Information, books and leaflets
Thrive's printed leaflets include several on sensory gardens - send for our Publication List or look online via the Thrive website.
Thrive, The Geoffrey Udall Centre, Beech Hill, Reading, RG7 2AT.
Tel: 0118 988 5688, Fax: 0118 988 5677 email:
Other useful addresses
Wales Council for the Blind, 3rd Floor, Shand House, 20 Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 0DB Telephone 029 2047 3954 (answering machine out of office hours)Fax 029 2043 3920 email
Scottish National Federation for the Welfare of the Blind, John Duncan, Redroofs, Balgaries, by Forfar, Angus, DD8 2TH, tel: 01307 830265 or email
RNIB Northern Ireland, 40 Linenhall Street, Belfast BT2 8BA
Tel: 028 9032 9373 / 028 9027 8119 email
Royal national Institute of the Blind, 105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE
Telephone 0207 388 1266 fax 0207 388 2034 email
If you would like a copy of this leaflet in a different format please contact Thrive.
Updated November 2007
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