MORE than 70 Illawarra residents came together to celebrate a decade of friendship through gardening on Wednesday .
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Members of the Shellharbour Garden Club were joined by president of Garden Clubs of Australia, Ken Bradley, Garden Club Illawarra Zone co-ordinator Graham Bevan and Shellharbour Mayor Marianne Saliba, to be presented with a ten-year certificate.
Shellharbour club secretary Robin Willington said since its formation in 2005 the club has grown in size and location.
“We are now at 80 members and we started out with 19,” she said.
“We are the youngest and fastest-growing garden club in the Illawarra Zone.
“In the beginning it was slow going, but since we moved into the new venue the club has really grown because we have the space.
“Our membership covers all the way from Kiama, Shellharbour, Shell Cove, Flinders, Albion Park, Figtree and Port Kembla, we cover a very big area.’’
Ms Willington said the club hosted monthly meetings, featuring a guest speaker at each event addressing a specific topic.
“Every year we also run a bus trip over two or three days and feature speakers to talk about various things.’’
Five or the original members had an official cutting of the cake at the event on Wednesday and guest speaker, Hazel King, a horticulturalist from Berry was on hand to discuss the latest trends in gardening.