A hope to harvest new life

President of the Transvaal Horticultural Society speaks on why she loves her role and her hope to acquire new members.

Meet the current president of the Transvaal Horticultural Society, Glynne Case.

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She has been part of the society for a number of years with her first term in the office being from
2012–2014 and since then she has served for a further three, two-year terms.
In her 22 years of being in the society, she has enjoyed being part of a group of people who share the same love of gardening as well as sharing plants and cuttings.

They initially met for their monthly meetings at the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens, but in past years have been meeting at Roosevelt Park Recreation Centre.

In her role, Case hopes to continue to spread the love of gardening. In her opinion, a society like theirs is important for a community because as passionate gardeners, they care about the appearance and atmosphere of the open public spaces in areas they live.

Also read: Why youll always stop to smell the roses at the Botanical Gardens

When asked in what ways does the society hope it impacts people’s lives she said, “People who love gardening are often the most generous of their time, knowledge and plants so the benefits are spread widely.” In recent years, membership has changed. It was originally quite a large academic body, but nowadays their society has become less formal and more sociable. Covid-19 also had an impact on membership as they were inactive from March 2020 to about July 2022 which shrunk their numbers with some members having stopped their involvement.

The society is now actively trying to recruit more, new and younger members, “So that we can continue to promote the love of and knowledge of gardening,” said Case.

Related article: Learners reach for the stars at the botanical gardens

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