The Iris Garden began with Gaynor England. Each day she drove past Snow Brown's house on the highway opposite Mawhinney's grain complex. His garden featured a great display of iris and Gaynor was so struck by how well they grew in his garden that she conceived the idea of establishing one or more iris gardens in Grenfell and holding an annual Iris Festival to attract visitors to the town. She talked the concept over with Sylvia Brind, a public meeting was called attended by over fifty people, and the Iris Committee was formed in the early 1990s.

The first iris garden was established in the triangle between O'Brien and Warraderry Streets. Council made the land available and members of the Committee dug the beds and laid out the rocks. Next, small plots were planted at each end of the median strips in Forbes Street, and in Rygate Sq. Keen supporters of the iris gardens were Allan and Gloria Stien, Sylvia and Jack Brind, Gaynor England, Kay Fowler and Maurice Schneider among others.

Support was offered by a number of regional iris nurseries keen to promote the plant, with donations received from as far afield as Sydney and Victoria. The Iridescent Nursery at Cowra came to Grenfell to give talks and demonstrations on iris culture and provided written material in addition to donations of rhizomes. It has been suggested that in kind donations may have been worth as much as $30,000-$40,000. Special mention must be made of Rainbow Ridge Nursery near Mandurama who gave the Committee carte blanche to take for free as long as they collected them as many iris rhizomes as they liked after a replanting at the nursery - a couple of trailer loads were brought back to Grenfell.

Planting at the O'Brien site began in 1995. The current iris garden was part of a much larger plan for a tourist precinct including the historic gold-mining area of O'Brien's Hill, the Endemic Garden, an arboretum, the iris garden and landscaped pools. The full plan lapsed but the iris garden went ahead albeit on a smaller scale - originally it was to extend north onto what is now Rod Walsh's block and a similar distance south. But it remained a substantial creation, covering over an acre and attracting visitors from Sydney and overseas in the flowering season as well as locals. A visitors' book in the possession of Allan and Gloria Stien includes the signatures of tourists from Japan, Germany and Ireland as well as interstate visitors. Comments were always favourable, mingled with an element of surprise that Grenfell had such a significant attraction.

The wooden arch south of the current planting was originally intended to be the main entrance to the Garden. It bears a plaque noting the official opening of Grenfell Iris Gardens by Gordon Samuels, governor of NSW, on October 24, 1998. The garden was featured on the front cover of the 1998 063 telephone directory. The Grenfell Lions Club subsequently erected a covered picnic table and seating.

Unfortunately, as time passed fewer workers were available and by the mid-2000s the garden was being maintained by Allan and Gloria Stien with the area reduced in size. In recent years Anne Gault has worked to keep the Garden going and in 2018 all the beds were rejuvenated and the iris divided and replanted.

The Iris Garden is well worth a visit, particularly when flowering is at its peak in October.

FOOD HALL: Joan Cations, Manager of the Grenfell Food Hall advises the hall is open each Friday from 9am-11am. Visitors must sign in with the QR code or pen and paper. A mask must be worn - no mask - no entry, with the four square metre rules between people. Customers will need to come in, choose their items, pay and leave immediately. At this stage they will not be offering morning tea. This is a requirement of the Government and the Presbyterian Church.

Orders may also be made via phone, Facebook and emails to pandjcations@tpg.com.au. Order by 5pm Sunday for delivery the following Friday. Further information contact Joan Cations 63431235.

Volunteers are always busy at the hall, receiving and unpacking the groceries when the van arrives on Wednesdays, stacking shelves and packing the on-line orders for clients for delivery on Friday.

SINCERE SYMPATHY: Sympathy is extended to the family of Ngaire Soley whose untimely death occurred at the weekend. I was a work colleague with Ngaire over the past ten years prior to her taking up a position at the Grenfell Preschool and Long Day Care Centre. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.