"He therefore found his father alone, hoeing a vine."

Gardening gives older adults benefits like hand strength and self esteem

In The Odyssey, Odysseus finds his father Laertes alone in the garden when he returns to Ithaca:

""I see, sir," said [Odysseus], "that you are an excellent gardener- what pains you take with it, to be sure. There is not a single plant, not a fig tree, vine, olive, pear, nor flower bed, but bears the trace of your attention."

-Book XXIV

It's good to see there's some scientific evidence backing up the health benefits of gardening.  The allotment gardens in England are a particularly impressive example.  It's not surprising that the same holds true for young kids:

"Shoemaker, who also researches gardening as a prevention strategy to childhood obesity, said that studying the physical benefits of gardening is important for older adults because gardening is a physically active hobby that provides an alternative to sports or other exercise."

"There's a lot of natural motivation in gardening," Shoemaker said. "For one thing, you know there's a plant you've got to go out and water and weed to keep alive. If we get the message out there that older adults can get health benefits from gardening, they'll realize that they don't have to walk around the mall to get exercise.""