VIDALIA — When The Dart landed on Apple Street in Vidalia Friday, it found Joseph Darden mowing his front lawn, carefully navigating his riding lawnmower through neatly trimmed shrubs.

With a well-manicured lawn and pots overflowing with plants dotting the patio, one would think Joseph has a real green thumb and enjoys working with plants.

“Sure,” he says, with a shrug, looking over his shoulder at the greenery surrounding his house.

It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy it, Joseph said, but, “It’s my wife, really, she likes all this. I do it for her.”

Beverly is inside, taking reprieve from the summer heat in the air-conditioning and catching up on a few chores. She had a hip replacement last month and doesn’t get around as well as she used to, though better than doctors expected, given that she has lupus.

Digging in the dirt, planting flowers and tending to plants was one of Beverly’s favorite pastimes. Now, she’s not able to get down and dig around in her flowerbeds.

The front lawn used to have many more plants and landscaping, but Joseph dug them up after Beverly’s recent stint in the hospital when they weren’t able to actively care for the plants.

Several of them have been repotted, making it easier for the couple to care for them.

“I had to move all my pictures and things up from the bottom shelf, too,” Beverly said, pointing to a bookcase in the living room with photographs that showcase the couple’s life together.

The Dardens have been married for more than 30 years.

Like many couples, they’ve stood side by side, navigating the intricacies of love and facings life’s challenges during that time.

They were each other’s first boyfriend and first girlfriend, but ultimately ended up with other people in their first marriages.

When those marriages ended, Joseph and Beverly found their way back to each other and reunited on Thanksgiving Day in 1982.

“He’s one of those types of people that he’ll do anything for anybody,” Beverly said. “He just always has been that way.”

It was no surprise to Beverly, she said, when she was diagnosed with lupus and other health issues that Joseph did anything she needed to support her, including taking over most of the plant and yard care after her hip replacement.

She’s still adjusting to her limitations.

“ He’ll say, ‘No, don’t do that. What did the doctor tell you? You’re not supposed to be doing that. I’ll do it,’” Beverly said. “He’s a doll, but even before I got sick, he’s always been like that. He’s always been an angel.

“Ever since we got married, we have always worked side by side doing everything. He’s always been there for me.”