Moncton man comes up with creative gardening solution for ailing wife

NB man comes up with stand-up idea When Ivan Roy's wife became too sick to enjoy time in the garden, he came up with a way for her to continue the activity she loves.

MONCTON, N.B. — Spending time digging around and planting in her garden has always been a favourite hobby for New Brunswick native Barb Somers. At 75 years old, she often found herself spending more time outside than in. That all changed when she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2011 and her passion for planting became increasingly difficult to enjoy.

"Doing it the traditional way, you're down on your knees you're bending over all the time and I can only do a little bit of that and then you have to stop and start and stop a lot and it just wasn't working out," says Somers.

Somers and her husband, Ivan Roy, were married on March 27th of this year, after more than 25 years together. When Roy saw his wife struggling to do the things she once loved, he knew he needed to find a solution.

"I know it was too hard on her to always be on her knees and all that, so that's when I got the idea and she started liking it," says Roy.

After testing out different styles and materials, Roy came up with an elevated aluminum planting box that allows the gardener to stand while working. Somars says the invention has given her the freedom to enjoy gardening once again.

"It works really well for me because it doesn't take a lot of work, and for me, I need more rest than I do anything," says Somers.

Somars received two separate stem cell transfusions along with multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation to try treating her illness. She says she's now on a maintenance dose of chemo, taken at home. While she admits some days are easier than others, she looks forward to checking on her garden every day.

"I get up in the morning, and we'll have breakfast, then I'll make coffee and he's getting ready to go to work and I just come out here. I'm in my pajamas half the time there's nobody around that can see me, the traffic is very low," joked Somers.

"It's hard to explain but it's fulfilling. It's an enjoyable moment to see it every day, every day she's out there," says Roy.

Roy began selling his upright planters in the hopes of helping others who have been struggling to enjoy their gardens as well.

"This is all new to me. Manufacturing is new, I've always been in business, but manufacturing is all-new, so it's a learning curve, but I enjoy it, I love it," says Roy.

Roy says his planters are a great alternative not only to relieve knee and back pain but gardening in a raised bed also helps keeps animals and insects away from whatever you've got growing.

"It's the way to go that's why I called it the future of gardening because if they have one, they'll never go back to their knees and tillers and all of that. That's a thing of the past," says Roy.

The new future of gardening, stemming from an idea that grew out of love.