Remember that Oscar-winning movie from 1987 called Wall Street?  Michael Douglas played an absolutely snarky, loathsome character who believed that money was everything.  His mantra was, “Greed is good.”

His motto was slightly off, of course.  As every gardener knows, “GREEN is good.”  

In fact, green is good no matter how old you are.  Did you spot the story in yesterday’s paper (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) about the lively seniors who reside in Decatur Christian Towers?  Five years ago, a few of them came down from their 14-story living facility and decided to grow some vegetables on a nearby patch of land. 

Today, the seniors’ garden has blossomed into some 21 rows of veggies and flowers, each one enthusiastically hoed, weeded, and harvested by men and women who have passed 70, 75, and even 80 years of age.  They raise tomatoes and peppers, beets and turnips, collards and peas, and much more.  Some of them tend indoor plants by sunny windows; others fill their freezers with home-grown okra, beans, and squash.

Since gardening provides plenty of exercise in the sun and fresh air, these delightful elder-gardeners also reap good health.  They plant seeds of friendship, too, as they work together, and their hobby keeps their minds active as they plan ahead for each new growing season. 

Starting Jan. 28, 2009, the 22nd Annual Southeastern Flower Show will blossom (that is, open its doors) to senior gardeners, kids, master gardeners, landscapers, hobbyists, and even beginners whose thumbs are barely green.

A doff of our straw gardening hats to you, seniors.  Long may your garden flourish.  You’ve discovered the not-so-secret secret:  green is good!