The old adage is ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’.
However, flora enthusiasts in Melton and Geelong have chosen to ignore this and opt to keep their friends closer.
On Thursday September 12, Friends of the Melton Botanic Garden were joined by the Friends of the Geelong Botanic Gardens.
The Melton volunteer gardening group hosted their Geelong counterparts for a five hour tour of the Melton Botanic Garden.
Friends of the Melton Botanic Garden president John Bentley said the crossover was useful in lots of ways.
“It’s good to have collaboration with other friends groups – we learn things from them, which is beneficial.
“They have donated plants to us… and we have purchased from their nursery.”
The day started with morning tea near the lake before attendees were taken to observe and learn about the southern section of the garden.
This was followed by lunch, provided by the Melton friends, and then concluded with a look around the north section of the gardens.
Mr Bentley said the Geelong crew had picked a good time to visit.
“September is a good time to visit because you see the peak of most of the flowering,” he said.
This is not an uncommon thing for the Friends of the Geelong Botanic Gardens to do, but it was the first crossover of its kind between Melton and Geelong.
“They run tours every couple of months… and last year they asked to visit us as part of their yearly activities,” Mr Bentley explained.
