Best Nurseries and Plant Shops in Brisbane

Despite eased restrictions, you’re probably still spending more time at home than you used to. Of all the ways to zhoosh up your place and generally lift the mood, a bit of greenery is right up there.

House plants are a vital connection to nature (however tenuous) and many species even purify the air. And treated well, plants grow and improve over time, rather than gradually falling apart like everything else you own. (Keeping them alive isn’t nearly as difficult as people make out.)

Shop for new indoor plants at these spots – from chic, tiny homewares stores to sprawling, multi-acre nurseries. And if you already know what you’re after, shop online at The Plant Lounge, Eden Gardens or Brookfield Gardens.

Words by Dan Cunningham And Holly Bodeker-smith
Updated on 16 December 2022

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Mappin’s Nursery & Aquarium

Poised somewhere between a big suburban nursery and a more compact inner-city plant shop, Mappin’s Nursery & Aquarium is the place to outfit balconies, courtyards and loungerooms with plantlife both edible and aesthetic. The warren of indoor-outdoor rooms sells potted fruit trees, herbs, cacti, ferns, kokedama, flowers, terrariums and smaller vegetable (such as chilli and tomato) seedlings. Describe your space and the staff can help you outfit it. Mappins runs its own workshops where you can learn to make botanical wreaths, terrariums and kokedama.

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Brookfield Gardens

Being that bit further from the city makes Brookfield Gardens one of the more spacious nurseries on our list. But it’s nothing if not orderly – sections are well sign-posted and connected by neat brick paths. Do a lap and you’ll discover a trove of indoor plants; fruit trees; terrariums; and orchids, roses and other flowers. Qualified horticulturalists float around in khakis, doling out helpful advice. The attached gift shop stocks a range of homewares that go beyond gardening, from candles to lampshades. Once you’re finished shopping, take a break for lunch at the on-site cafe, Wild Canary.

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Oxley Nursery

Looking to start a tropical, Balinese-style garden? Don’t go past Oxley. Owners Caitlin and Andy Roy have been growing for more than 20 years and have a certain distaste for the bestselling plants – many ill-adapted to Brisbane’s climate – found at some other nurseries. Follow Oxley’s wide gravel paths to discover palms, bamboo, bromeliads, heliconias and other proven tropical and subtropical performers from around the world. If you’re really taken by it all, book a home consult and the staff can design something for you.

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City Farm Nursery

Non-profit organisation Northey Street City Farm has been advocating for permaculture – a more sustainable form of agriculture – since 1994. The four-hectare farm is home to more than 1500 fruit trees, shrubs and other plants, which are tended by volunteers eager to learn via practical experience. The attached nursery is guided by the same principles and the staff can help you design a garden that works with nature, rather than against it. Stop by for organic fertilisers, organic pesticides, edible natives, herbs, beneficial bug-attracting flowers, fruit trees and vegetables.

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The Soul Pantry

The phrase “The Soul Pantry” calls to mind a small, cutesy space. But the place itself couldn’t be further from that. The soaring warehouse is divided into several interlinked zones, encompassing a plant and homewares store, cafe, florist, workshop space and cheesemonger. With a coffee in hand, you can wander the entire site at your leisure. Naturally, the Soul Pantry focuses on indoor species such as maidenhair fern, fiddle leaf fig and devils' ivy. Its regular workshops cover topics such as flower arranging, plant care and DIY terrariums (materials included).

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Oasis Plant Nursery

In contrast to the big, professional nurseries on this list (and even the slicker little plant shops), Oasis is something of a guerrilla operation. Its seeds and cuttings are collected from Brisbane’s very streets, spirited back to Kelvin Grove and propagated in a private yard behind a large Queenslander. On Friday and Saturday, the yard opens to the public, who come to browse 1000-plus species of native and locally adapted plants at attractive prices.

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The Green

Hidden just off James Street, this cacti-filled eatery and shop is dedicated to Lebanese-style mezze and share plates, Ottolenghi-inspired salads, Japanese ceramics and plants – lots of them.

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The Plant Lounge, Nundah
The Plant Lounge shop strikes a good balance between size and range. It’s ideal for anyone who feels a bit overwhelmed by the more crowded nurseries out there. On its simple, uncluttered timber shelves you’ll find all manner of indoor plants in woven and ceramic pots sourced from Australian labels such as Melbourne’s Angus & Celeste and Sydney’s Jones & Co. (You can also shop online.) Like many others in Brisbane, the store also runs regular classes on plant care, terrariums, kokedama and more.

All The Green Things, Various Locations
What began inside a converted weatherboard cottage in West End is now a budding green empire, with shops now in West End, Highgate Hill, Indooroopilly and Carindale. Each location is a destination for those who want to shop a decent range of indoor plants without traipsing through aisle after aisle at a nursery. There are monsteras, tassel ferns, zig zag cacti and more, complemented by a range of attractive pots from the likes of American label Allen Designs.

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