Residents flock to Drysdale plant sale

DRYSDALE Uniting Church was laden with a thousand plants on Saturday morning for the Clifton Springs Gardening Club’s annual plant sale.

The Clifton Springs Garden Club, which meets once a month at the church, held its fourth yearly plant sale with a variety of perennials, annuals, succulents, herbs, and vegetables on offer including a raffle, raising funds to donate back to the community.

At the conclusion of Saturday’s sale, Clifton Springs Garden Club announced that total sales from the event amassed to $1,800, $500 of which will be donated to a local community charity of its choosing.

Leftover plants from the sale were also donated to the Drysdale Uniting Church’s Annual Fete set to take place later this year.

The plant sale is a favourite of the Clifton Springs Garden Club according to secretary Helen Allan, which allows the community-based group to give back to the local area that has provided it with a home for the better part three decades since the club was first established in 1984.

“We try and give something back to the community which depends on the amount of money we have raised,” Ms Allan said.

“Most of these plants are grown by the members of the club with the exception of some that are donated by local nurseries, but we love sharing our gardens on this particular day and putting the funds raised into a worthwhile charity.”

The garden club has donated funds to many institutions in the past, including the Kinship Carers, Andrew Love Cancer Centre in Geelong, and the Cancer Council in memory of a member who passed away.

The group provides a valuable social outlet for plenty of gardening enthusiasts.

When Ms Allan first moved to the Drysdale area in 2007, she was without a social circle, but after being recommended to the group by the club’s treasurer at a Pilates class she had found a second home.

“It’s a lovely group of people and we do engage in social outings such as bus trips, but it is a great place for people to share their knowledge once a month,” Ms Allan said.

“The Clifton Springs Garden Club membership total currently stands at 54, which is down from 76 before the pandemic, but we continue to contribute an abundance of flowers and plants to several different institutions around the Bellarine region area such as Drysdale Primary and a Leopold church to name a couple.”

Ms Allen said membership fees were only $10 per year and excess funds raised by the annual plants sale go toward overhead costs such as insurance and rent, as well as helping to subsidise the club’s end-of-year Christmas luncheon.