The International Tropical Foliage & Garden Society was formed out of Bundaberg by Andrew Webb and other enthusuasts, in late 2003 and got up and running immediately, with first juicy newsletter produced in Jan 2004.
We now boast a membership of close to 300 , mostly in Australia but also members from other tropical parts of the asian/pacific rim and folk from Hawaii, Florida and California.
It's non-profit of course.
The partly colour newsletter "Tropical Topics" is produced like clockwork every two month and improves every month with new sponsors and more importantly, contributions from experienced or enthusuastic tropical growers.
The Society was very pleased to have be invited to represent at several prestigious shows . Teh pic below is one from the ABC garden expo in Brisbane earlier this year, which attracted thousands of people. Our stand packed with bromeliads, heliconia and gingers, got special attention.
The membership benefits for locals (meetups/swaps/trips) are obvious - there are currently severall sub-branches and membership to the main Sopciety gives you an entrance everywhere.
This IS a real community tropical growers community. knowledge with fellow member.
Within Australia, membership is $30 per person or $32 per family.
Outside Australia, membership costs US $30. If anyone is interested in more info please contact me and I will put direct you on to the organisers.