There was no handing over of ceremonial secateurs but rather a founding member of the Illawarra Rose Society handed its youngest member something even more symbolic.
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Judith Oyston OAM was gifted a ceramic rose fairy at the society's 25-year celebrations and, at its golden anniversary at Kiama Leagues Club on Saturday, June 22, young Sophia Hernandez became the new keeper of the little ornament.
It was a moment that represented the aging organisation's hopes for the future.
"It's wonderful for me to see younger people joining and the regionals being maintained with interested rose growers," Mrs Oyston said.
The Illawarra Rose Society (IRS) began with about 19 members in 1974, peaked at 167 in 2010 and has hovered around the 100 mark since 2010.
Colin Hollis, who served as chair of the local arm from 2004 to 2012 before becoming state president, said the society has only lasted so long because of its willingness to move with the times.
"It has been this ability to change and adapt as well as realistically face new challenges that has enabled the Illawarra Regional to remain vibrant," the former Throsby MP said.
"These challenges include new gardening techniques, smaller garden space, changing leisure patterns as well as changing weather conditions," he said.
The most recent challenge facing the Illawarra rosarians has been the pandemic, which caused many Australian clubs and societies to fold.
Current Illawarra president Kristin Dawson - who planted 26 roses in 2011 and now boasts about 150 in her Kanahooka garden - puts the IRS's survival during COVID down to the simple act of reaching out.
"We sent out regular newsletters and we'd meet where we could in the open air at Peace Park in Kiama and sometimes in people's gardens," she said.
"And the committee would meet regularly on Zoom, so we just kept things going and kept an interest in people and checked in on them.
"It's not just about growing roses, it's about the community, which is important, and I think that helped it to survive."
It didn't hurt that many people turned to gardening as a way to beat boredom and anxiety during isolation and lockdowns, or the fact that the organisation had made it a priority to "really listen to what people want".
"We're ageing and a lot of our exhibitors that came from Sydney, they were some of the best, and they couldn't come anymore," she said.
"But last year, because we didn't have as many exhibitors, we invited the public to bring their roses to display, and so that was something that was different."
They've recently put on a popular David Austin display at the Jamberoo School of Arts, introduced rose recipes and food offerings and are set to offer workshops on rose care, flower arranging, cross-pollinating, hybridising and more.
A breath of fresh air
The Hernandez family joined the Illawarra Rose Society around the time of the pandemic.
Esther Hernandez, a mother-of-two and a notorious plant-killer - "I used to kill everything, even rosemary" she laughs - had just moved to an acreage at Cordeaux Heights.
She decided roses, with their reputation for being resilient, would be the safest bet for her massive new garden.
"I went online and looked for resources and then some people said one of the best ways to learn is to join the rose society," she said.
"So I contacted them and the rest is history."
Ms Hernandez's oldest daughter, Ava, 13, joined her in the garden and at meetings, and some time later youngest daughter Sophia, 11, followed.
"I only started liking roses because my mother did," Ava said.
"I'm not really sure why she liked them, but I just thought she might think they're such a pretty flower and they come in all different colors and shapes, and that's really intriguing to me.
"It's also really fun to spend time with my family out in the garden.
"We live on an acre and it's filled with lots of different plants, but by far the most we have is our roses because once you buy one you can't stop."
The family now has almost 100 bushes, all of them "asleep right now" because of winter.
Ava's favourite variety is Soul Sister, Dolly Parton and her miniature Popcorn, while her mum prefers a traditional English look, like the David Austin, and her sister loves them all.
"They seem to genuinely love gardening and I can spend time with them outside and I just love that," Ms Hernandez said.
"And they really know how to do it; sometimes I don't know what to do and they'll be like, 'oh, you just do this and that'.
"They have different approaches to growing them and to loving them, and they're own flavour."
It's a joy Mrs Oyston has known since 1963 when she planted her first rose garden.
That was the year her daughter was born and her parents unexpectedly presented her with a bunch of rose bushes.
"Perhaps they thought, you know, I've given up work and I had a little baby, and now I needed to garden," she said.
"Over the years, I never stopped to say, 'Why did you do that? Why did you turn up with 12 bushes on that particular year?
"I don't have the answer, but before they passed, they certainly knew the joy that those roses gave me."
Mrs Oyston's involvement with the rose society began when she noticed "a little square in the Sunday Telegraph advertising joining" in 1967.
"And I did that and my rose garden grew and I became more and more involved," she said.
The IRS started as an extension of projects at the Auxiliary of Dapto Methodist Church in 1974, and Mrs Oyston has been described as its heartbeat for the past 50 years.
She's just as grateful for all that the society has given her, including interstate and overseas trips with her peers, a stage to give talks, the authority to judge shows and the chance to meet people who share her love of roses.
"It's actually a beautiful hobby and a hobby which, fortunately, I can still enjoy," she said.
When she moved into a small complex of villas in Woonona in 1997, her neighbours gave her permission to dig up the lawn and put in a rose garden.
"I have a lovely rose garden around the villa now, and I have some in the the driveway garden," she said.
"It's just a small complex, there's only five villas and my fellow companions here enjoy the roses, too.
"They love it when you knock on the door and and hand one through.
"I'll probably end up with about 35 (rose bushes) this year, which is way down from years gone by. But that doesn't matter, that's me looking after me.
"But it's my happy place."
