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The first Gardening on the Edge event was held in 2005.

As early as July 2004 plans were being made for an event the Club initially called Camellia 2005 and had booked the Community Hall for the event. A subcommittee was subsequently formed with Gillian (McLeod ) Sandra (Slack), Norma (McLeod) and Rosemary (Simmonds) volunteering at that point.

The first recorded mention of at this event to be called Gardening on the Edge was in the minutes of the November meeting in 2004. No one individual is credited with naming the event in the Minutes that can be discovered. It is important who had the original idea of calling the event Gardening on the Edge. it seems fitting that it was pulled together by so many willing helpers prepared to work together which is always the secret of success.

Gardening on the Edge thus became a new initiative for the Club. It provided an opportunity for local people and visitors, from a wide range of South East Queensland, to visit eight gardens in the Blackall range area. For this we also utilised the Activities Hall of the Maleny High School where club members provided refreshments, a display of camellias, gourmet foods, plants for sale and sold tickets for garden visits. In addition nursery representatives operated stalls for the sale of camellias, orchids, bromeliads, roses, native and herbs. Visitors were able to enjoy a number of Open Gardens in the Blackall Range area over the two day period. The event was most successful, with in excess of 1,100 visitors, a great deal of positive comments and numerous requests to hold a similar event during 2006.

Gardening on the Edge continued uninterrupted from 2005-2019. In 2020 the event was cancelled due to the arrival of the Global Pandemic, COVID 19. All was not lost though as the Maleny Garden Club pulled together the Maleny Spring Fair in October 2020.

Traditionally the Maleny District Horticultural Society, now the Maleny Garden Club, has used the medium of flower shows to raise funds for community organisations. Gardening on the Edge and its predesessors, the Autumn and Spring Fairs and the modern Spring Fairs are the source of many thousands of dollars in community donations.

See a Summary of Community Donations here.

See a History of Gardens Open for Gardening on the Edge 2005-2019 here.

See a History of Gardens Open for the Spring Fair from 2021 here.

Follow the Gardening on the Edge events on this website via the
GARDENING ON THE EDGE link in the top menu bar.

Follow subsequent MALENY SPRING FAIR events in the website’s tight sidebar under FIND MORE…Select Category.