By Danielle Rexrode
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Gardening is quickly making a comeback as one of the nation’s most popular pastimes. A survey conducted by the National Gardening Association (NGA) reported that 83% of American households participated in some kind of do-it-yourself lawn and garden activities in 2005.

“This sets a new record— that’s nine million households and the greatest single-year rise reported in the last five years,” says Bruce Butterfield, NGA research director. “This makes sense given the high rate of home sales over the last few years.”

But just because you don’t live in a house doesn’t mean you can’t indulge your green thumb. Older Americans are finding they don’t have to give up their favorite hobby when they move to a retirement community.

Avid gardeners Harry and LaRue Anderson live at Oak Crest in Parkville, Md., where they grow their own vegetables in the gardens located near Lake Victoria.

Inch by inch, row by row
“When we moved to Oak Crest, the first thing we did was apply for a  gardening spot,” says LaRue Anderson. Oak Crest features more than 70 garden spots for residents; each is ten square feet. “I really enjoy getting outside and digging and working in the garden—it’s good exercise. We grow tomatoes, peppers, corn, Swiss chard, among a few other things,” she says.

“Eating what you grow is one of the best parts of gardening,” says Harry Anderson. “We’re from the South and the Southwest, and we both grew up eating okra. So we decided to grow it in our garden. We love to lightly steam it and top it with butter, salt, and pepper—it’s delicious!” he says.

A love of ratatouille inspired Phyllis and Carroll Yingling to reserve one of the hundred 10’ by 10’ garden patches near Charlestown’s Our Lady of the Angels Chapel. “We love ratatouille and we’ve always loved gardening; so when we moved to Charlestown, we signed up for one of the garden spots and planted tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini,” says Carroll Yingling.