Who wants to live to 100?!

Not me, no thanks!

If I am moderately healthy, still have my mobility and my mental faculties, I would be delighted to live to 100!! And if gardening helps me to accomplish that, then I am all in!!

btw, one thing that article didn't mention is that gardening on a routine basis, like at least once a week, can help to maintain bone density and reduce osteoporosis in most women over a certain age :-) I'm sure it must help the guys as well although I think they are less prone to this aging issue than are women.

So far, I've made it 3/4 way there and have gardened most every day of it. Sometimes only on a windowsill in Winter, or with a few potted plants while in college, but I'm working toward it.

rouge..thanks for the article!..the exercise, fresh air and emotional satisfaction gardening gives is so good for people..my parents are 88 and 85 and living in their own home next door to my sister..their previous home of 32 years had a 2.5 acre lot..taking care of it probably maintained their health..they still grow tomatoes..

my mom and a helper..

For once this isn't true!

“You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.”-Woody Allen

I'd love to be a healthy 100. Course, it'd have to be mentally healthy too though, and it's too late for that.

good for a laugh..mom with a broken foot in a wheelchair giving orders..my sister and father carefully weeding and deadheading..and a great granddaughter "working" faster than the other 3 combined!..

I am good with however many years I have, but will likely hit 100 based on family history. One great grandmother was 94, her daughter (my granny) lived to 105, and my mom is 90 and still going strong, reading, tutoring math to middle and high school students, and exercising for 45-90 minutes 6 days a week. All of them walked quite a lot outdoors, and though none were avid gardeners, my grandmother at least puttered in the garden as long as she was able, though eventually she lost the flexibility needed to do much. My dad’s mom lived to 93, so I figure that I had best take care of myself and stay active mentally and physically if those final years will be of good quality. For me, gardening, working part time, reading and walking/skiing/snowshoeing in the woods are all part of that. Since we grow our own veggies, a good part of the year we have a fairly healthy diet as well, though perhaps a bit less so at this time of year when I need to buy more veggies.

NHBabs..you have great genetics!..mine are decent as well..all of my neighbors (18 of us) on our cul de sac are about my age..just one has a parent (mother 90?) but I have both of mine..I think you and I are in the minority to have parents at our age..

NHBabs..you have great genetics!..mine are decent as well.

But for me, in contrast, I am hoping my love of gardening can counteract my poor genetics :(.

I hope so too rouge..it's possible!!!

Well, social and cultural factors play a large role in determining life potential (as the article avers)...but mostly, quality trumps quantity and a life lived well is more important than a life lived...longer.

The numbers are a bit rubbish in my family too, Rouge.

I think that regardless of length of life, outdoor exercise as well as staying engaged in many ways can truly improve quality. There are several folks in my life who have had terminal diagnoses at unfortunately young ages, but all of them continued to stay engaged, working at jobs they loved, visiting family, skiing, hiking, throwing parties, laughing, etc.

Excellent title!

I think enjoying life is so much more important than the actually tally of years. I mention this because I have a neighbor who is always complaining about how each day just runs into the next and the years just fly by. I know people who live more in a week than she does in a year...

Now if I could only get around this whole going to work for a living thing.

In addition to the health benefits of being outside and getting exercise, I truly am convinced that gardeners live longer because they stick around to see just how big that (insert plant name here) is really going to get.

although I think they are less prone to this aging issue than are women.

Maybe because women on average have a longer life span than men?

I truly am convinced that gardeners live longer because they stick around to see just how big that (insert plant name here) is really going to get.

....or how those Fall planted bulbs will look the next spring ;).

quality trumps quantity and a life lived well is more important than a life lived...longer.

touche Campanula.

I can't believe I'm the first to comment on how HILARIOUS nicholsworth's photo is. ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS! Man, that little girl can work. What she lacks in precision she makes up for in enthusiasm. Beware, all plants! Just too funny. A perfectly timed photo!

On topic, pretty good genes here so far, but not nearly as good as NHBabs (good grief, you may not go for another century!). My eyes absolutely stink. I need new eyes.

On the topic of Things You Can Do When You're Nearly 100, one thing I love about this area is that my kids are learning the two main Maine summer activities--tennis and sailing. I see 90-year-olds regularly doing both all summer, and I love that they're learning a sport they can do for their whole lives.

deannatoby..thanks!!..you made my day!!..it WAS a funny moment..someday when my parents are gone this pic will be precious (actually it already is)..let me know if you need to clear some land..I'll bring Adriana over Lol..

two main Maine summer activities--tennis and sailing. I see 90-year-olds regularly doing both all summer, and I love that they're learning a sport they can do for their whole lives

Tennis? Phooey ;).

Isn't PICKLEBALL the sport of choice now...especially for the 50s crowd and up?

(It is a great game....love it).

Um, well as a person who cannot throw, catch, bat or kick any sort of flying object, with even a smidgeon of accuracy, ball games of any description have never been a feature of my life since the horrible torture of schooldays. Even the ball flinger I use with the sheepdog is liable to travel in unplanned directions (even behind me), often landing in nettles, shrubbery, trees or neighbouring gardens...so Pickleball (whatever that is) remains on the doubtful list, too.

so Pickleball (whatever that is) remains on the doubtful list, too.

Campanula dont knock it till you try it. It is a much easier game then tennis to be successful at.

(Surely I cant be the only one on this forum to play this game??)

what's a pickleball? I do love tennis, hiking, and horseback riding, but gardening trumps everything else. I plan on weeding for a just a quick few minutes, and then I grab a shovel to move just one or two plants, and then stand to wonder what needs fixing the next... before I know it, the time's gone. The only way I hike these days is when I pick my son up from university in the Appalachians. Can't possibly garden there since I am visiting (not that I don't want to. I have a compulsion to figure out what each plant is, and rip out weeds).

Rouge, I think Maine is stuck in a time warp. Anything trendy is removed from your possession at the state line, unless it has to do with organic gardening and beer brewing. Those are our only trends. Now, if an organic gardener could grow a round cucumber, somebody might adopt some form of pickle ball.

HAHAHAHA!!! Oh, I crack myself up sometimes, even if I'm the only one I crack up. ;-)

what's a pickleball?

my sister sent this pic today..my mom was out in a robe and slippers picking up trash before the snow falls..I doubt if there were many 85 year olds out today..temps were low 30's..this thread's made me realize what a funny family I have!..get this..I was out 4 hours picking up sticks and limbs..I was wearing a coat with my PJs (stretchy pants and shirt) underneath..like mother like daughter Lol..

Understandable, I'm only 75, not 85, but I also was out picking up fallen branches and sticks. Never got above freezing and a 30 mph wind, but at least the sun was shining until noon.