Forest HeartecoNursery

In the hills above the Sunshine Coast, on Jinibara Country, this native-plant nursery has made a specialism of the flora that belongs here — species suited to the particular light and rainfall of the Maleny hinterland rather than generic garden-centre stock. The range runs from native plants and bushfoods to fruit trees and a section devoted to hard-to-find specimens, with plants dispatched to gardeners across South-East Queensland and into Northern New South Wales as well as sold on site. There's a genuine depth of knowledge on display: factsheets, growing guides and articles on flora, fauna and ecology sit alongside the plant list, and a butterfly-attracting plant guide hints at a broader interest in what a garden can do for local wildlife, not just how it looks. The nursery also engages with regional ecological concerns, including bunya pine dieback, suggesting a business rooted in conservation as much as commerce. It's a working nursery rather than a polished retail experience — open Tuesday to Saturday, with a history attached to its building worth reading about before you visit. Worth the drive up from the coast for anyone building a garden that actually belongs to this landscape, rather than fighting against it.