Garden guru Jane Edmanson visited Melton last Thursday in her role as patron of the town’s botanic gardens.
Melton Botanic Gardens Friends group president John Bentley said Ms Edmanson, who presents Gardening Australia on ABC Radio and is author of several gardening books, has been the Melton garden’s patron since 2012.
“It took us two years to find a patron,” Mr Bentley said.
“We decided what we thought a patron should represent and we went through a whole lot of names around, and we thought about Jane.”
The talkback presenter has promoted the garden across multi-media, and Mr Bentley said people are now coming to the town from across the state.
“We had an increase in people purchasing from or visiting the nursery at the garden because she’s mentioned it on radio,” he said.
“A lot of people say to us, ‘we heard about you on the radio’, so it’s been really positive for us.”
Ms Edmanson visits the garden once a year for a tour.
“She is really positive about what the ‘friends’ do and what we’re achieving, and how something is happening out in the west,” Mr Bentley said.
