Tags: Gardening. Garden. Plants. Flora. Fauna.
GARDEN GETS A VISIT
One of the more noticeable features to be seen on a drive around the streets of Bribie Island is the many very well cared for gardens and a perfect example of this is at the home of keen gardener and Banksia Garden Club President, Desley Horsfall, where the many garden beds are filled with an absolutely amazing array of plants of all sizes and types and the surrounding lawns compliment the setting.
I suppose that the most accurate way that I could describe what is obviously the result of many hours of dedicated work by Desley and her husband would to say it is a “gardener’s paradise.” It is only natural then that those who are passionate about gardening enjoy paying a visit to other gardens and so it was that, as a Garden Club event, Desley recently opened her garden for a visit by two busloads of “Green Thumbs” from the town of Boonah. As well as the visitors taking a stroll through the expanses of greenery and flowers, they also had the opportunity to purchase a bargain from the stall that was set up at the rear of the house.
Desley explained to me that the club always donates to charity when they make money from an event. ‘Unlike some clubs, we don’t charge people to visit an open garden,’ Desley said. ‘We raise a bit of money from stalls like the one that we have set up for the visit and this time, we will be donating to the Bribie Island Respite Centre,’ she added.
The Banksia Garden Club was founded in 1990 by Ern Woodward and at the present time has over ninety members. It is affiliated with several other bodies that include The Queensland Council of Gardening Clubs, The Royal Horticultural Society of Qld and The Garden Clubs of Australia Inc.
The club meets on the first Wednesday of each month, (January excluded) at the Bribie Island Community Arts Centre and from time to time hosts events such as the open garden at Desley’s home and also the “Come and Share” days which are held in member’s gardens and are where plants and cuttings are exchanged over morning tea.
Visitors were able to take advantage of the bargains that were available for sale at the
open garden
As a long time resident of Bribie Island, President Desley has been a member of the Banksia Garden Club for twenty-four years and I would have to say that it is very apparent that she adores all things horticultural. ‘I remember hearing a speaker at a garden club meeting saying that forty-five minutes in the garden is equal to thirty minutes in the gym,’ Desley told me.
‘I told my daughter that I don’t have to go to the gym because I spend so much time in the garden and she just replied by saying that it depends what you actually do in the garden,’ she said. Desley, I reckon that you do well and truly enough in the garden to make a trip to the gym unnecessary.
Garden clubs are a great way for people with a passion for plants to get together and share their experience as well as their common interests.
For more information about the Banksia Garden Club, you can send the club an email at [email protected] or call Desley Horsfall on 3408 8470. New members are always welcome.
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