Tennessee Gardeners Share the Joy of Gardening

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AARP

Published May 14, 2026

For Larry Currie, gardening has been a lifelong friend. “I grew up gardening,” he says. “I got away from it, but, you know, it draws you back.”

Larry grows a bit of everything in his Memphis garden. His harvest ranges from squash to watermelons, string beans to bell peppers. “It’s just better than going to the store and buying stuff out the store,” he says. “You know if you go out to the garden and get it, it just came in the house.”

Fresh food is one of the reasons Larry came back to gardening 30 years ago. It’s also why his wife, Gerre Currie, decided to join him 15 years ago.

“The most important thing for me is you know without fail that you’re actually getting fresh vegetables that you yourself have grown,” she says.

“Maintaining a diet that is rich and plant-based helps you with staying here a little bit longer,” Gerre continues with a laugh. “As opposed to eating cookies, now, I reach for an orange or an apple.”

Across the state in Knoxville, Susan Long has found the same joy in gardening that the Curries have. Susan began gardening when she bought her first house and inherited a small garden bed.

“It’s been about 35 to 40 years,” Susan says. “I had never gardened, and I thought ‘hmm, let me go back there and piddle with it.’”

With time and effort, Susan turned that small bed of soil into a full-fledged garden. “What really happens is you just learn as you go along. You have disasters,” she says. “Over the years, I’ve found out what really makes a successful garden, really through trial and error.” She shares more tips on how to do this here.

Like the Curries, Susan’s garden helps her stay healthy.

“I really think (my husband) and I have eaten healthier, and our whole family has eaten healthier, because of the garden. There’s no doubt about it,” says Susan.

Growing her own vegetables became more important to Gerre as she aged. “The biggest takeaway about (gardening) is realizing that we have a skill that we can always translate to ensure that we have fresh vegetables – which, as you get older, are really, really important to you – without having to rely on getting to a grocery store.”

Susan enjoys canning her produce, so it lasts all year. “I make a hamburger slaw, and pickles, and pepper jelly, and figs and a cowboy candy. Then I can enjoy those all year.”

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A healthy, homegrown harvest isn’t the only benefit of a garden.

“It’s great stress relief,” says Susan. “When you work all day, it’s nice to come out and put your shorts on and get your hands dirty and get your feet dirty. It’s exercise. It’s not strenuous exercise, but it’s exercise.”

“Just being with nature, you know, it means a lot,” says Larry, a self-proclaimed outdoorsman. Larry spends about three to four hours in his garden every week. “It gets you outside, moving around.”

Susan also finds community in gardening. “I love to have parties. When my crops are coming in, I have dinner parties. My friends love it. That’s a good way to stay in touch with other people, too,” she says. “People come over and they say ‘oh, this is so beautiful!’”

Through the years, Susan has passed down her love of gardening to her children and now, to her grandchildren. “It’s multigenerational,” she says of the communal factor. “I’m able to share vegetables with others.”

No matter the age, these veteran gardeners insist anyone can pick up the skill.

“It’s something everybody can do,” says Susan. “It’s a nice thing that as you get older, you can continue doing. I know many people who garden into their late 80s. I’m going to keep trying to do this as long as I can.”

“You’re never too old. Old is a state of mind,” Gerre says. “As long as you are on this earth, there’s always an opportunity.”

To anybody feeling drawn in by the garden, wanting fresh food, a reason to get outside or all three, Larry has one piece of advice. “You got to be dedicated to go out there and get to it.”