It would be nice to keep the roses, as they are lovely.

I know I can't see her roses, but I mean roses are lovely in general. Just need a bit of pruning here and there.

But the beds they grow in would need weeding Alex - and 30 roses take up a lot of room!

A membrane with bark or gravel chips on top and a pot or two if she wants them would be a lot less work. I hope no cats use the chips as a toilet though... :-( You'd need sharp stones to discourage them.

Hi Avril ... not sure if your Mum would like something low maintenance like my front garden ... take a look at my blog from 22 November 'Thinking caps on' ... hope this helps. : o )

Hi Avril . . . if you look under "D" at the bottom of the page, you will find numerous ideas for designs.

A few raised beds at knee to thigh level would allow her to grow some flowers with much less labor, especially without stooping! Raised beds have the advantage of needing less water and feeding than containers. Weeds can be suppressed in the beds with 5-10 cm of coarse mulch, preferably organic. The chips that she will be walking on need to be small enough to not turn her ankles--probably less than 1 cm across. Annual weeds will be suppressed better if the chips are applied more than 5 cm deep. Hose bibs should also be around hip height for ease of operation. Light weight "coil" hoses could also be useful in reducing labor, and possibly tripping hazards! All of this is assuming that she likes to garden. If not, a plain, chip covered yard may still be too depressing--and depression can be disastrous in the elderly! Some carefully chosen and placed statuary and relatively low maintenance flowering shrubs may be in order.