Mr Loughran, secateurs in hand, had joined about 80 volunteers, most of them Friends of the Rose Garden, in the annual pruning day.

Under the watchful eye of rose garden pruning expert Pam Hutchins, the team set about making in- roads into the job of pruning 3900 roses.

After a quick lesson of what to prune and where, Mrs Hutchins offered the friendly threat: "Cut off a water shoot and I'll cut one of your limbs off."

Mrs Groom said that the latest grant would be used to build an octagonal pavilion, prepare and plant roses and build lawns around a historic ruin and resurface paths in the traditional Woolmers' ironstone so that the gardens were more accessible.

"Over the next few years we will be able to use the Friends' money to add furniture and sculptures to the garden," she said.

"Artist Stephen Walker is completing a bust of George Adams to be unveiled on the garden's third birthday on November 27 when the whole Tattersalls' board will be at Woolmers," she said.

Tattersalls donated the original $200,000 that started the project which would become one of the most significant tourist attractions in Tasmania, Mrs Groom said.

Mr Loughran said that yesterday's grant was the third from the Tasmania Community Fund.

The National Rose Garden was one of 72 successful recipients of $1.94 million in the latest round of grants.

The fund had provided more than $15 million to 400 organisations since its inception, Mr Loughran said.