Dear HMAA member
As we come of the end of the year, I’m reflecting on HMAA members’ dedication to promoting and sharing the significance of horticulture and gardening in Australian lives. You do a great job.
In a recent letter to the Sydney Morning Herald (1 December) following the retirement of Jane Edmanson after her many years of dispensing gardening wisdom through various forms of media, writer Trish Burns extolled Jane as ‘an exemplar of how gardening can be a catalyst for bringing our communities together’. Bringing communities together is one of the most important aspects of what we do as HMAA members. But, as you know, we do much more by reminding Australians, whether garden lovers or not, of how gardens and gardening enhance our lives in so many ways.
HMAA continues to achieve successes and exert influence far outweighing what would be expected from our relatively small, but growing, membership numbers. I’m not going to attempt to list the many achievements and activities of HMAA over 2025 because I know I’d miss something. But there’s been a lot going on – thanks and congratulations to you all.
2026 is going to be a special milestone year when we’ll be recognising our high achievers at the HMAA Laurels. This prestigious event was first celebrated in Adelaide in the Year 2000, which is why we’ll be returning to Adelaide next year. In 2026 The Laurels will be held in The Pavilion at Adelaide’s historic Carrick Hill on the evening of Thursday 3 September – please keep the date free.
Adelaide will be the place to be in September when The Laurels will dovetail in with a number of other happenings, including the Australian Institute of Horticulture’s conference, the Royal Adelaide Show and a unique opportunity to visit some of Adelaide’s finest gardens. An HMAA sub-committee is working hard to make this occasion a splendid success (and we all know that Adelaide has a well-deserved reputation for running great events). More details soon.
I’d like to thank the hardworking members of the HMAA committee. Their contact details are here https://hmaaustralia.com.au/about/ and they’d love to hear from you with suggestions or ideas. Special thanks, too, to webmaster Jim Dobbin and Jennifer Stackhouse for their commitment in keeping us up to date with the weekly HMAA blasts.
Most of all congratulations and best wishes to all HMAA members for an even more successful 2026 to come!
Judy Horton
President
