Growing passion

By Tania Martin
A QUEST to find out more about gardening led to a life-long passion for Keith and Maisie James.
The Ferny Creek couple has been recognised for their 60-year commitment to the Ferny Creek Horticultural Society.
They have been awarded the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society John Pascoe Fawkner Gold Medal.
The award recognised the Jameses’ hard work and commitment to gardening.
At a horticultural society meeting on Saturday, 10 March, the Jameses were given the surprise of their lives when they were told they had won the award.
Mrs James said the award was unexpected.
“It was a pleasant surprise, it’s just great to be recognised for something you have always done,” she said.
The Jameses joined the horticultural society in 1947 shortly after moving to the Dandenongs.
They both knew nothing about gardening but were keen to learn how to turn their two-acre patch of blackberry-covered land into a garden lovers’ paradise.
“We needed to learn what we could grow,” Mr James said.
Mr James said he became hooked on gardening after reading about all the different families of plants.
He has gone from knowing little about plants 60 years ago to having a great passion for the cultivation and hybridisation of rhododendrons.
Many of Mr James’ plants have formed part of the design of the horticultural society garden.
He has sold thousands of his plants over the years at plant sales.
Mrs James has also been a great help to the horticultural society over the years with her vast knowledge of plants, their names and cultivation.
She has passed on her knowledge and passion for plants to many keen gardeners over the years at various plant sales.
The Jameses say the highlight of their time at the horticultural society was to see the transformation of the old tip and quarry site in Hilton Road, Ferny Creek, into an ornamental garden.
“It was great to see the tip turned into a garden at the same time as we were developing our own,” Mrs James said.
She says joining the horticultural society all those years ago has led to a lifelong passion for gardening.