Our Story

Meet The Fletchers

People say things often only make sense in retrospect. When Poppy and I reflect on our eighteen-year life journey together, we can see how our path led us here – bringing our traditional, family-run nursery to northern Tasmania. 

Poppy and I met when we were postgraduate research students at the University of Melbourne, studying music and science. When we started our family, we were living in a tiny little rental apartment in Brunswick and converted our single carpark spot into an urban food jungle. The seed was sown. 

When our daughter Madeleine turned one, we went on a holiday to Tasmania and fell in love with the beautiful island and the potential that it offered for us to raise our family close to nature. We packed our belongings into our old Toyota Corolla and made the journey on the Spirit of Tasmania. 

  • We bought our first home in Launceston, a Federation house with a big back yard. In no time at all, we had lifted almost every square inch of grass and planted a large vegetable garden. Our little daughter helped harvest garlic, carrot, corn, pumpkin, tomatoes and beans, and cared for our muscovy ducks and hens. 

  • Our son Solomon arrived and we moved again – this time to a small acreage in Exeter, which gave us the opportunity to embrace a homesteading life. We had Dexter cows, ponies, guinea fowl, a larger flock of hens, a bigger vegetable garden, an orchard and berry patch. We baked bread. We preserved and pickled fruit and vegetables. Our children, our garden and our love of the environment grew. 

  • When I finished my studies in architecture and was practicing as a building designer, having left my career in science behind in Melbourne, I was pondering what our next steps as a family would be when Poppy came to me one day and said, ‘I’ve just seen a house with an old plant nursery listed for sale in Dilston.’

New Beginnings

We visited the property, with its old glasshouses and sheds, orchard, vegetable garden and dam, all surrounded by a high block work wall that locals call the Great Wall of China. We met the Dutch family who worked so hard to create this incredible property, and whose work ethic and values so closely matched our own. We were smitten and alive with excitement at the opportunity to take what we had learned about growing plants, designing and planting gardens, and creating outdoor spaces that connect people and children to nature – and sharing this with our community across northern Tasmania. We bought the property in 2015 and Fletcher & Co Nursery was born. Our third child, Abel, was born a year later!

One of the things we learned quickly about Tasmania is the importance of relationships, of taking the time to listen to people and their stories – Tasmania is full of people with incredible stories. In the nursery, through talking with hundreds of customers, we have learned the common problems people are trying to solve in their gardens. We love talking with customers about their gardens and planting plans, and helping them find solutions so they can experience the richness of life with plants. 

Through gardening and growing plants ourselves, we have learned through trial and error what grows well in our cool temperate Tasmanian climate – and what doesn’t. Ours is a nursery where we propagate the bulk of our plants onsite, so they are growing vigorously when they pass from our care to yours. It’s a family affair, so when you visit us, there is often more than one Fletcher floating around. We look forward to welcoming you to our nursery and being part of your own journey with plants. It has brought such fulfilment and joy to our lives and now we want to help you have a similar experience.