University study: Gardeners really do have green fingers

Horti-biologists from the University of Maplemoor have published results from a series of tests, indicating that the keen gardeners among us are susceptible to Viridem Digitis ? a micro bacterial condition that turns the pigments of your fingertips green.

Professor Hayley Jape, senior lecturer of Horti-biology at Maplemoor, said ?It?s amazing really ? to think that all these years we believed that saying somebody had ?green fingers? was just a daft saying, when actually there is reputable, scientific proof behind it.?

According to Professor Jape, the study was conducted after her granddad said he wanted to spend more time with her. ?Gramps had been pestering me to spend more time with him in his garden, and I managed to find a way of keeping him happy without having to take time off work?.

The results show that, compared to somebody who has never even picked up a trowel, a gardener?s fingers (when seen through a microscope) show a green tint, which is more vibrant depending on how much time the subject spends in the garden. Professor Jape added ?it?s very much like looking at a blade of grass under a microscope, so it appears as if the grass molecules react with the skin molecules to form a hybrid micro-species.

The full study and its results is set to be published later this year. Professor Jape, after being asked to drive her grandfather into town next week, is looking into conducting a future study on backseat driving in the over 70s.