There may have been a few drops of rain, sunshine and varying temperatures throughout the day but that didn’t stop the Cooma Spring Open Gardens Rural Fire Service (RFS) fundraiser going ahead last Sunday.

Nearly 70 gardening enthusiasts visited the various Cooma gardens, with each garden providing something for every garden lover to enjoy.

The gardens featured were in Kaufline Close, Mulach Street, Short Street and the heritage garden at Raglan Gallery in Lambie Street.

Those who made it to the fourth garden at the Raglan Gallery were treated to some refreshments and a chance to chat to the local RFS crew who had plenty of ideas and giveaways to help keep the community safe.

The organisers raised $1900 for the Cooma RFS on a day that was specially dedicated to the previous Cooma Open Gardens Day organiser, Nella Bacon, who passed away in August.

According to Nella’s daughter, Merri, Nella always loved gardening and gardens and listening to the ABC Gardening program wherever she was and also watching Gardening Australia for years.

She had a beautiful garden at Yellow Pinch Park near Merimbula and was involved in the garden club there and in garden days held in Merimbula and around the Far South Coast.

When she and husband, Alec, returned to live in Cooma around 2010 that love continued with both becoming involved again in the Cooma Garden Club and also visiting gardens in the Australian Open Garden scheme, Merri said.

When the Australian Open Garden scheme folded it was then up to local garden clubs and individual enthusiasts to set up their own events and that is what Nella did, seeing it as an opportunity to gather people together for a fun day and as a fundraiser for her parish and other causes such as the local cancer support group and in Merimbula the Christchurch Earthquake appeal.

“It became a passion and mum also very much enjoyed meeting new gardeners and seeing their gardens and the friendships which developed along the way through the garden day,” Merri said.

“Also after Covid, the garden day was one of the first events that people could go to in Cooma and after such a torrid time the joy that people felt getting back to an event like that was worth all the hard work that both mum and dad did, as dad supported and helped with all the carting of plants and setting up etc, whilst mum did all the publicity etc. It was definitely a team effort.”