Naturally
Native – Our Story
Sowing the seeds of success…
Naturally Native’s story
begins in 1980, when Tauranga teacher Mark Dean
decided to make a radical career change, leaving
the classroom after nine years to establish a
nursery at Oropi. Mark had a passion
for native species and decided to specialize,
and what began as a “lifestyle” venture
transformed into a horticultural success story.
In 1995, after 15 years of running the Oropi
nursery, Mark and his wife Esme joined with shareholders
to establish Naturally Native NZ Plants Ltd.
One of New Zealand’s
largest native plant growers
Today, Naturally Native is one of the country’s largest specialist native plant growers, with over 500 native species and cultivars being grown and supplied in large volumes into the retail, commercial and contract markets.
Credited as being the driving force behind
the commercialization of native New Zealand
plants, Naturally Native’s success
can be attributed to our specialist
knowledge and technical expertise, and to
the dedication of our highly skilled people.
With efficient real time
inventory and production management systems,
innovative marketing and management practices,
and a commitment to producing plants of superior
quality, Naturally Native has become one of
New Zealand’s
best known native plant brands.
Our Nurseries
Naturally Native has a modern propagation facility in Oropi near Tauranga enabling us to produce an ever expanding range and volume of the highest quality native plants. We focus on garden centre lines and revegetation contracts.
Our Markets
Naturally Native supplies a comprehensive
range of groundcovers, shrubs and trees
to a wide variety of customer groups.
These include retail garden centres, commercial
landscapers and landscape designers,
planting contractors, landscape and environment
consultants and private customers. Naturally
Native has also pioneered long term supply
contracts with local authorities. Plants
are supplied throughout New Zealand as
well as to several export destinations
including Australia, the United Kingdom
and the United States.
Garden Centres
Vibrant, eye-catching point-of-sale
material and promotional ideas makes
a Naturally Native plant stand out from the
crowd! Our new colour coordinated label
branding, instantly identifies premier Naturally
Native plants throughout garden centres.
Landscaping
At Naturally Native we grow large lines
of quality stock for the landscaping industry.
We pride ourselves on providing reliable
product and delivering a fast, efficient
response to quote enquiries and stock
requests.
Contract Growing
Naturally Native provides
a full spectrum of contract growing services,
including seed collection, propagation, growing
on and delivery.
Environmental Restoration
Naturally Native works closely
with councils and beach care groups to provide
plants for environmental restoration. Naturally
Native is proud to be involved in the restoration
of native environments. In addition to supporting
environmental projects, private landowners
are able to purchase directly from our nursery
for their own restoration.
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