- 1st Jun 2026
- 4 min read
The Garden Can Wait: How to Avoid the Weekend Boom-and-Bust
A kinder way to approach gardening when enthusiasm, stiffness and an overgrown border all arrive at once.
The Garden Can Wait: How to Avoid the Weekend Boom-and-Bust
The first warm weekend can make an afternoon in the garden feel irresistible. There are pots to move, weeds to pull and six weeks of jobs that suddenly seem possible before lunch.
The difficult part often comes later. A back that felt fine while you were working may stiffen that evening, or a shoulder may complain the next morning. This does not automatically mean you have damaged something. It may simply be a sign that the amount or type of activity was more than your body was ready for that day.
Gardening is varied physical work
Gardening asks the body to do much more than stand and walk. You may kneel, twist, grip, reach, lift and hold one position while concentrating on a small task. Even people who exercise regularly can be surprised by it because the movements are different from their usual routine.
It is also easy to lose track of time. A bed that needs “just another ten minutes” can quietly become an hour of bending in one position.
Stop before the job is finished
This is harder than it sounds. We tend to use the end of a task as the signal to rest, but the task may be much larger than our current capacity.
Try using time instead. You might weed for 15 minutes, stand up and water pots, then have a proper pause. Changing the job changes the load on your body, even if you stay in the garden.
Other small adjustments can help:
- bring pots and tools closer before you begin
- use a kneeling pad or low stool rather than hovering in a half-bent position
- split heavy loads and make two journeys
- alternate hands where the task allows it
- move your feet instead of reaching and twisting from one spot
- leave a visible job for another day
The last point matters. Pacing is not a failure to finish. It is a way of making it more likely that you can return tomorrow.
If your back is already sore
Long periods in bed are rarely the most helpful response to ordinary back pain. The NHS advises staying active and continuing normal daily activities where possible. A gentle walk, a change of position or a little comfortable movement may feel better than becoming completely still.
That does not mean forcing yourself through sharp or escalating pain. Start with what feels manageable and build gradually. If an activity causes a flare that lasts well beyond the task, that is useful information for next time: reduce the duration, the load or both.
When an assessment may be useful
If pain keeps returning, stops you doing everyday things or is not improving after a few weeks, it is reasonable to seek advice. An osteopathy appointment may include looking at how your back, hips, shoulders and other areas move, as well as discussing the activities that bring symptoms on.
At Bonn Square Therapy Room, Rosie Waygood takes a whole-body approach and will explain any hands-on treatment. Advice or movement should fit the person and the life they actually lead—including the garden they would like to get back to.
Seek urgent medical help for back pain after a serious accident, or pain accompanied by weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around the genitals or anus, chest pain, or changes in bladder or bowel control.
A smaller plan for the next sunny day
Choose one area, decide how long you will spend on it, and stop while you still feel capable of more. The garden will provide another job soon enough.
If back or joint discomfort is making gardening difficult, you are welcome to contact us and ask whether an osteopathy assessment may be appropriate.