Top Marks: THE special guest at this year’s Festival of the Gardens, Gardening Australia magazine editor Jennifer Stackhouse, says she is amazed at the quality of Griffith’s gardens.Photo:

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HAVING listened for years to her mother praise the gardens featured in Griffith’s annual Festival of the Gardens, this year’s special guest Jennifer Stackhouse has finally had the opportunity to witness their quality first hand.
And according to Ms Stackhouse, the editor of Gardening Australia magazine, the wait was worth it.
“My mother Shirley, who is also a gardening writer, has been here several times and always raved about how wonderful the gardens were in Griffith and I tell you what, they’ve really lived up to what she said,” Ms Stackhouse said.
Speaking while touring the garden of Lake Wyangan’s Bruno and Joy Plos on Friday, Ms Stackhouse said she was delighted with the quality, care and individuality on display.
“This garden here is just all about flowers and it is packed with plants and it’s an absolute joy to walk around.” Ms Stackhouse said it was not only the gardens entered in the festival that had impressed her, but it was apparent all residents took great pride in caring for their gardens.
“It is obvious that even people throughout Griffith who aren’t involved in the festival have really put a lot of work into making their gardens look beautiful,” she said.
Ms Stackhouse said that although the city’s gardeners had done a terrific job countering the drought and water restrictions to have their gardens picture perfect for the festival, she hoped in time people would become even more water efficient.
“I know it’s expensive and there are restrictions on where water recycling systems can be installed, but it would be good to see the water that people have here being used many times instead of just once,” she said.
“I think that somewhere like Griffith that is such an oasis could be setting the example for other in-land towns and even for places like Sydney where there’s a very cavalier approach to water use.”