David Rose is well travelled and has worked in a number of fields, but his passion has always been for the outdoors, particularly for Australian native plants. Twelve months ago, he took over the family business – Sydney Wildflower Nursery. Today, he tells us how the business has changed over the years and how it has adapted to the changing needs of its customers.
When his parents started Sydney Wildflower Nursery in 1980, they saw an opportunity to build a business in a niche market. They maintained from day one that they would specialise in Australian natives and, over the last few years, they have found the demand for these plants is greater than ever due to the drought period and subsequent water restrictions that we have experienced in recent years.
The business has two locations - a wholesale nursery in Berry, where they grow most of their products and the retail outlet in Heathcote site, which gives them a place to showcase their plants and sell to the general public and local landscape gardeners.
David always knew that one day he would be part of what his family had established and therefore decided Twelve months ago that he would commit himself and follow his passion by purchasing the retail arm of his parents’ business at the site at Heathcote.
David said his partner, Narelle, has been a huge help along with his parents in the initial stages of taking over the business. He is looking upon these initial stages as a time of consolidation and improving on what his parents have built. Even though it is early days for him, David feels as though he is achieving something and making a contribution to the bigger picture by educating people about Australian natives and indigenous plants and helping them use them for their gardens.
His success in the six months since he took over the business is reflected in the recent win at The Leader Small Business Awards. Nominated by their customers in the Nursery / Garden Centre category, and then judged by a final panel to win the award, the win clearly demonstrates the goodwill inherent in the business, built by both by David and his parents.
Looking ahead, David is excited about adapting the nursery to meet changing demand, making it more user friendly and enabling him to educate the public about our native plants and how they can best be used in the garden. According to David, one of the biggest misconceptions is that natives can’t be adapted for cottage style gardens – whereas, the reality is that natives can easily be used for hedges and cottage-style plants.
In his downtime, of which David acknowledges is limited at the moment, he loves to entertain and play a bit of golf. In the future, he would love the opportunity to travel again. Although much of his time is currently devoted to the business, David says that he doesn’t mind as he really does love getting up each morning and coming to work.
To find out how you beautify your garden with Australian natives and at the same time do your bit for the environment by saving water, contact the Sydney Wildflower Nursery on 9548 2818, or visit the shopfront at 9 Veno Street, Heathcote. | 
