Growing beautiful flowers is in Graham Gunn’s nature - he’s been winning awards for it since primary school.

“We had flower shows there, that I won certificates for,” he said, before disappearing into his room and coming back with a certificate from the Ashburton Borough School, dated 1957.

Gunn has loved horticulture his whole life, and is involved with the Ashburton Dahlia Circle and Ashburton Horticultural Society.

Unfortunately, it’s the end of the road for the latter - After 133 years of flower shows, the Ashburton Horticultural Society has officially closed up.

Gunn said membership numbers were low and the club could no longer justify the time commitment and costs of running.

“It’s sad to say, but it's not just Ashburton, it's everywhere.”

A general lack of interest in horticulture has seen societies around the country close its doors or downsize, he said.

“The Canterbury Horticultural Society used to be a thriving society, they used to have monthly meetings on all sorts of topics.

“Sadly, all that’s gone, I just can’t understand it.”

Long-time patron Gunn joined the society as a young man, around the 1960s.

“Back in those days, it wasn’t the [Ashburton] District Council, it was the Borough Council.”

He was the secretary at one point and said his biggest job was organising the National Flower Show in the Tancred Street Sports Hall in 1967.

Seasonal shows, where growers could flex their healthy produce and flowers, were the main attraction for society members, Gunn said.

Members would travel the region setting up displays and showing off the prettiest roses, daffodils and dahlias Ashburton had to offer.

When they weren’t cleaning up awards, the society held sermons and children’s classes for local gardeners.

“We had speakers at our meetings who talked on different topics, it was very educational.

“Flowers, vegetables, fruit, anything to do with horticulture.”

At the society’s peak, Gunn reckons there were 80 devoted members involving themselves with competitions and events.

But with only 14 people attending the last meeting, it was time to close this chapter of Ashburton’s horticulture history.

“I’m very, very sorry to see it go after all these years.

The leftover tools and pots will be distributed around other horticulture clubs, and the remaining funds will go to Advance Ashburton, he said.

While this society was wrapping up, support for other groups in the area was growing.

The Tinwald Garden Club and Dahlia Circle had seen a increase in numbers, with a good portion of young people picking up the hobby.

“The Dahlia Society in Ashburton is thriving, and we’ve got quite a few younger people in it.

“It’s gone from strength to strength.”

Gunn is a part of the Dahlia Circle, so he’s able to keep himself busy despite the Horticultural Society’s closure, but he’s going to miss it.

“It really was close knit.”

By Anisha Satya