Their fifth season

With the fruits of their labors in hand, Carolyn Rhodes (left) and Izora ‘Ikey’ Howell pause to appreciate their modest haul. But gardening at Decatur Christian Towers, where they live and work the earth with other residents — such as Annie Nelson (background) — is about more than fresh green beans or to-die-for home-grown tomatoes. A garden means exercise, socializing, living in the moment. Over five seasons, it has become for these gardeners a daily drama of hope and disappointment, life and death, new memories and old.