About us

Candlebark Community Nursery (Inc) is a self supporting not-for-profit organisation established in 1994, dedicated to helping local people improve the natural environment. We offer a wide range of attractive, low-cost, local native plants grown from plant materials collected from throughout Maroondah, Yarra Ranges and Manningham council areas and surrounds In Melbourne’s outer east.

We are also able to contract grow species for other parts of Victoria at a reduced price where the appropriate plant material (seeds/cuttings) is provided.

You can help us to keep our invaluable community nursery viable and productive by:

  • becoming a member of our incorporated association
  • buying our plants and recommending them to others
  • donating goods or materials to support our operations and site development (crushed rock, eucalypt mulch, treated timber for an urgently needed composting area, shadecloth, polyhouse PVC, irrigation materials, nursery benches for hardstanding areas)
  • making a small online donation to our GoFundMe campaign
  • sharing information about us on social media, or with family, friends and business associates
  • becoming a corporate sponsor 
  • volunteering your precious time to help us:
    • collect plant materials for propagation
    • clean and sort seeds
    • keep the growing plants weed-free and healthy
    • maintain our site, buildings, sheds, structures, internal gardens & work areas
    • with administrative support, such as database entry or stock control
    • sell our plants when we are open to the general public, or
    • by providing specialist skills and help for free or at reduced cost (plumbing, carpentry, electrician, tree lopping and mulching/arborist, bookkeeping, IT, web hosting/site management, fencing, signage).

Helping the environment

Candlebark Community Nursery depends on its volunteers and local community support to succeed and flourish for another 30 years. Our members, volunteers and management team are dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of our local native plants and the native wildlife it supports. We work hard to source and grow the plants to support our goals, which contributes significantly to a healthier local environment.

Using our indigenous plants in and around our urban and semi-rural landscapes is a no-brainer.

Why?

Indigenous plants:

  • are already adapted to growing and thriving in our local soil types and climatic conditions so they require less maintenance to keep them alive
  • are inexpensive to buy, easy to establish and very quick to grow and establish
  • need very little maintenance, other than watering during establishment in warm, dry conditions. Local native plants can generally survive on rainfall alone once established, especially in mulched garden beds
  • provide specialised food, habitat and shelter for local native insects, animals, birds and microorganisms, some of which cannot survive without specific indigenous plant species.  For example, the Eltham Copper butterfly is dependent on Bursaria spinosa (Sweet Bursaria) to exist
  • enhance the health of our waterways and provide habitat for instream species
  • are great for stabilising soils and riverbanks, & preventing erosion and landslips
  • replacing environmental weeds and restoring ecological balance in existing bushland areas and along waterways
  • helps conserve our precious biodiversity at a local and regional level, preventing localised plant and wildlife xtinctions.

What gardens are suitable?

Any garden situation can benefit from the use of local native plants.
Candlebark grows a wide a range of species from the most delicate
groundcovers to huge trees (including the tallest flowering plant in
the world, the Mountain Ash).
Our plants can complement any design theme, from the most formal through to
bush gardens, cottage gardens, and even lawns. Their use is limited only by the
imagination.

Why buy your plants from us?

  • We use only the best potting mixes and materials and our propagators are professionally trained.
  • Our plant quality is second-to-none and our prices are well below most retail nurseries.
  • The plants are adapted to local conditions and so are easy to establish – saving you time, water and money.
  • Our passionate staff and volunteers are only too happy to help you learn about the plants we grow and sell and how they can enhance your landscape or gardening project.
  • Help conserve and enhance our local biodiversity values to ensure there are no more local native plant or wildife extinctions in the area in which we live, work and play.

Growing and planting locally for a healthier and more biodiverse environment for everyone!