A VETERAN market stallholder has sold her final pot plant after more than six decades.<\/p>\n
Gardener Miriam Powell turned her hobby into a casual business in the early 1960s and ran her last stall at the Buninyong Smart Living Expo on Sunday.<\/p>\n
She said it was difficult saying goodbye to her regular customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been more emotional than I thought it would be,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m 97 years old now and it\u2019s a bit tiring, otherwise I would keep going to the full century.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was something different for me to do. I was a nurse and this was something to take the mind off work, and at markets you get to meet people and get to know the regulars.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to go every weekend when I was younger all over to places like Ballarat, Daylesford and down to Laverton.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Powell started selling her plants when she took part in a market at Buninyong Primary School while her son was a student.<\/p>\n
The majority of Ms Powell\u2019s plants were sourced from her garden and included fuchsias, ferns and shrubs.<\/p>\n
Miriam\u2019s granddaughter Emma was on hand to help out during her last day, and said their market appearances have been family-run her entire life.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents were doing it since before I was born so I\u2019ve been doing this on and off since forever. Nanna\u2019s always had the market,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy uncle John and some cousins are here today as well. It\u2019s always been a family thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a time where she was doing it pretty much every week there was a market on. Nanna\u2019s become a fixture here and people have been coming up and saying they\u2019re going to miss her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The unsold plants from Miriam\u2019s final sale were donated to the Friends of Buninyong Botanic Gardens where she\u2019s also a member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A VETERAN market stallholder has sold her final pot plant after more than six decades. Gardener Miriam Powell turned her hobby into a casual business in the early 1960s and ran her last stall at the Buninyong Smart Living Expo on Sunday. She said it was difficult saying goodbye to her regular customers. \u201cIt\u2019s been […]<\/p>\n