By Jessica Anstice
There was a constant flow of people wandering through Narre Warren North Uniting Church’s Spring Garden Plant Sale to raise money for farmers in need on Saturday.
Throughout the day 150 to 200 attended. The generosity of the visitors was one of the highlights of the day, along with many others.
“When the visitors found out that the funds were going for farmer’s relief many didn’t want their change or they bought extra things,” Bruce Crowle said.
“The social aspect was great to see as visitors sat at morning tea conversing with their family or friends, there was always a buzz in the room.
“The interest that people have in their gardens and how they always looking for that something special, and the diversity of interests people have in particular plants – some looking for herbs, some looking for succulents or orchids, and different varieties of these were all highlights.”
Mr Cowle said it was a spectacular effort by all concerned, from those who helped set up, the Community Garden Club members, the wonderful team of Tea Ladies, the blokes running the sausage sizzle, and the much loved op-shop volunteers, which enabled the church to raise nearly $1700.
“The Uniting Church in Australia has had a long history of ministry in remote areas of our country, this particular arm of the church going under the name of Frontier Services,” Mr Crowle said.
“As the current drought set in and forced many farming families into extreme hardship, it was recognised that something special needed to be done.
“Narre Warren North Uniting Church has two plants sales per year, with the funds raised going to some local charity, however this time the Community Garden Club asked if the funds could go to the farmers, so it seemed natural to hook up with what Frontier Services were doing in their ministry with farmer’s drought relief.”
The Community Garden Club has been active for over ten years. It is a community minded club and anyone interested in gardening is most welcome.
Throughout the year, the garden’s produce is often either donated to those in need or sold to church members on Sundays and the funds are given to charity.
The group has been working on a newly consecrated sacred space in the garden for anyone in the community to come to any time of the day for some peace and quiet.
The club runs Tuesday and Saturday from 9am to whenever, usually a couple of hours.
