Three generations of the Jackson family and a team of skilled growers, giving Australian gardens plants they can rely on since 1946.
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Est. 1946 · Dromana, Victoria
80 years of growing better plants
Southern Plants is a family-owned wholesale nursery at Dromana, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. We grow 2 million+ plants a year across 700+ varieties for Bunnings, independent garden centres and landscapers in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and the ACT.
It started in 1946 with a small bedding-plant nursery in Springvale. Three generations later, each one has asked the same question: how do you grow better plants, and leave the industry better than you found it?
80
Years of growing
3rd
Generation family business
2m+
Plants grown each year
700+
Varieties
1994
Supplying Bunnings since its first Victorian store
What We Stand For
Our vision, mission and values
Our Vision
To lead Australian horticulture as the most sustainable and innovative nursery organisation, focused on customer and end consumer satisfaction and setting the benchmark for excellence in everything we do.
Our Mission
We are a professional organisation with a proud legacy of continued commitment to our people, communities, consumers, customers, suppliers and industry.
We strive for excellence by fostering a culture where people feel valued, supported and able to grow.
We deliver the right plants, at the right time, in the right quantities, at the right quality, at the right price.
Our values spell THRIVE
Plants thrive with the right light, the right soil and the right care. Our people and our business thrive when we live by these values.
T
Trust
Our word is our bond, and we deliver on our promises.
H
Honesty
We say what we can do, and we do it.
R
Respect
For our people, customers, suppliers and communities.
I
Integrity
Doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
V
Vow (Commitment)
Excellence through structured processes and continuous improvement.
E
Empathy
Our people are our greatest strength, and we care for the environment and our communities.
Our Achievements
What we've built
The work behind the plants you'll find in garden centres and Bunnings stores across south-eastern Australia.
Since 1994
A Bunnings partner from day one
A foundation greenlife supplier to the first Bunnings Warehouse at Sunshine, Victoria — and a partner ever since.
Ranges that stuck
Plants grouped by the job they do
We created Nature's Nectar®, Bloc It® and Mighty Tuff®. Growers across Australia now grow plants under the same range names for Bunnings.
Southern Hemisphere first
A closed-loop pot and label
Pots from 95% Australian recycled plastic, welded to a recycled label with no staples or glue. Both go in the kerbside recycling bin.
2024
Two sustainability awards
APCO Sustainable Packaging Award (Agriculture & Nurseries, SME) and NGIV Commitment to Environmental Stewardship.
Industry firsts
Ideas the trade still uses
The original retail nursery trolley, the "potoroo pot" growers still talk about, and coloured pots and plant labelling developed with Norwood.
Our workplace
A safe place people enjoy working
A team that likes coming to work, in a safe and supportive workplace that meets the high safety, employment and business standards Victoria sets.
Our History
80 years of Growing Confidence
From plants sold wrapped in newspaper to 2 million+ plants a year in recycled pots — the moments that shaped Southern Plants across three generations of the Jackson family.
Generation one
Ralph & Lorna Jackson
The founders · 1946–1975
1946
The family nursery begins
Ralph and Lorna take over a small bedding-plant nursery in Springvale. Plants are lifted straight from the soil and sold wrapped in newspaper.
1960
Grow what you sell
The nursery moves to Dingley as a grower-retailer. Control the growing and you control the quality — an idea Southern Plants still works by.
Generation two
Bryan & Fran Jackson
Gardenworld and Southern Advanced Plants · 1975–2007
The Jackson family at Gardenworld, c.1999 — Ralph and Lorna (seated), Bryan and Fran (standing centre), Mark (standing left) and Mark's sister Alison (right).
1980
Gardenworld opens
A destination garden centre new to Australia at the time. Through the 1980s and 1990s it grows into the largest independent garden centre in the Southern Hemisphere.
1983
Southern Advanced Plants is founded
A wholesale nursery next to Gardenworld — the direct forerunner of Southern Plants.
1989
The move to Dromana
The nursery moves to a 90-acre property at Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula, where we still grow today.
1994
Supplying the first Bunnings Warehouse
A foundation greenlife supplier to Bunnings Sunshine, Bunnings' first Warehouse store and its entry into Victoria.
Early 2000s
The first named ranges
Nature's Nectar®, Bloc It® and Mighty Tuff® launch through Bunnings, each built to solve a specific problem for the gardener.
Gardenworld, Southern Advanced Plants and the family home, Keysborough, spring 1994.
Generation three
Mark & Pilar Jackson
Southern Plants today · 2007–now
2010s
Built for scale
Propagation moves to specialist partners, and investment goes into materials handling, Cravo greenhouses and laser-levelled growing ground that captures site water for reuse.
2011 & 2017
More ranges, same idea
Home Harvest™ launches in 2011 and Small Spaces™ in 2017, alongside Shades of Colour™.
2024
Two sustainability awards
Mark's recycled pot design wins the APCO Sustainable Packaging Award, and NGIV recognises Southern Plants for Commitment to Environmental Stewardship.
Today
80 years on
2 million+ plants a year, 700+ varieties and six branded ranges, supplied to gardens across five states and territories.
19822026
“We're doing what's right not just for our packaging, but for the environment and for future generations.”
— Mark Jackson, Managing Director
How We Grow
Grown to a standard, not just grown
The practices behind every plant that leaves our nursery.
Strong starts
Propagation is done by specialist partners, including Peninsula Growers on the Mornington Peninsula, so every plant starts with a healthy root system.
Peat-free growing media
Plants are potted into a composted bark mix made from timber industry by-products, with slow-release fertiliser.
Grown outside, hardened off
Plants grow outdoors in Peninsula conditions, so they're tough and ready for the garden when they arrive.
Water captured and reused
Laser-levelled growing ground directs site water into our dams, where it's stored and reused for irrigation.
New lines are tested first
Every new plant goes through testing and a viability study before it joins a range. Plants that are hard to grow or too costly for the gardener don't make the cut.
Labels that keep helping
Care labels carry light, water and size information, with a QR code to each plant's own page on this website.
Our People
The people behind the plants
The Jackson family
Mark and Pilar Jackson lead Southern Plants today, with Mark as Managing Director. Between them they bring two nursery families' experience — one from Victoria, one from northern Spain.
Bryan and Fran's ranges have grown into six branded Southern Plants ranges, and the same hands-on approach still runs the business.
Our team
Growers, dispatch, sales, admin and label design all work from the nursery at Dromana — the people who grow, check, pack and deliver every order.
Every plant ends up in someone's garden: a balcony pot, a new hedge, a backyard full of birds. We grow plants that succeed there, with labels and plant pages that help them thrive long after the sale.
The planet
More plants in more gardens means more shade, more habitat and cleaner air. We grow them responsibly: recycled pots, solar power and water captured and reused.
How our plants reach you
Bunnings
A partner since 1994, in stores across Victoria, New South Wales, the ACT, South Australia and Tasmania.
Garden centres
Independent garden centres and retail nurseries, with retail-ready labels and barcodes when they need them.
Landscapers
Large quantities for landscape and council projects, with the option to supply without labels.
We're a wholesale grower, so you'll find our plants through our trade partners. Trade customer, or want to become one? Visit our trade page →
Sustainability
Sustainability you can check
Pots made from 95% Australian recycled PP5 plastic, labels from 100% recycled plastic
Pot and label welded together with no staples or glue, on the only machine of its type in the Southern Hemisphere
Don't just take our word for it — here's what some of our customers have to say.
"As a landscaper, I'm thrilled with Southern Plants' extensive assortment and availability. They consistently have the quantities I need for large-scale projects, which is crucial for my business. Their ability to supply big orders for major jobs has made them an invaluable partner in my work."
— M. R., Professional Landscaper
"I can't thank Southern Plants enough for the wealth of information on their website and product pages. As a gardening enthusiast always eager to learn, I've found their resources incredibly helpful. It's not just about selling plants — they're educating and empowering gardeners like me to make informed choices."
— E. L., Gardening Enthusiast
"Southern Plants has been our go-to supplier for years. The quality and consistency of their stock is second to none — our customers always comment on how well the plants have been grown. The native range in particular is outstanding."
— T. B., Retail Nursery Owner
"The online trade portal makes ordering so easy — I can check stock levels, place an order and get a confirmation all in a few minutes. For a busy garden centre, that kind of efficiency really matters."
— S. M., Garden Centre Manager
Find Us
On the Mornington Peninsula
163 Nepean Hwy, Dromana VIC 3936
Trade customers can arrange delivery on a schedule that suits them, or pick up from the nursery.
