The beginning
William Richard (W.R) Warner, a gardener at Windsor Castle, emigrated from England and opened the doors of his first nursery at premises in Burwood Road, Auburn, back in the troubled year of 1914.
A few years later he purchased land in Camberwell and together with his sons Jack and later Geoff, began to produce a range of stock for the gardeners of Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
Deliveries were made by horse and dray, although folklore persists that W.R once wheeled a barrow – load of hydrangeas to St.Kilda for a well credentialed customer. Cash sale no doubt.
The “Garden State” owes much to these pioneers of horticulture.

The Warrigal Road years
1938 saw an expansion to Warrigal Road Burwood, a site the business occupied until the year 2000. Then surrounded by market gardens and dirt tracks the 1940's entailed a great deal of hard work. Manual labour was  required for every task and the onset of the Second World War meant a depletion of both personnel and materials.
Nearly all plants were grown in the ground, dug by hand and balled in hessian for sale over the cold winter months. Shade houses were covered in tea tree, freshly cut from the Yarra banks at Wonga Park. Two more sons, Bob and Arthur joined the family firm after their war service and together with trusted employees Tom Edwards and Reg Leggo, the four brothers set about growing the business further.

Changing of the old guard
Meanwhile, W.R Warner  had stepped aside to become more involved in his local community, holding office as Mayor of Camberwell on two occasions.
During the 1960's and 70's the nursery industry expanded and with more retail outlets cropping up in the suburbs, Warners focused on what they knew best - growing plants.
Above ground production was emerging and tin ice cream containers were replacing terracotta as pots. Venetian blinds were the labels and potting mix was mountain soil, Cranbourne sand, peat moss and rice hulls.
At the same time the next generation was beginning to exert some influence and Max, through his involvement at Association level, began to promote the Warner name Australia-wide. Ross and Lewis were production-based and as Melbourne then  boomed through the 80's, so too did Warners. An earlier growing site at Dingley was disbanded and some warm climate stock grown on the Murray River at Barham, NSW.
It was the expansion to a 6 acre Rowville property however, that modernised the company. A streamlined operation was set up to focus on the rapidly increasing landscape demand for advanced screening plants.

The dawning of Narre Warren
Today the nursery is set on a 15 ha site at Narre Warren North. The modern  facilities are a far cry from what old WR Warner encountered in the early days.
All plants are grown above ground in plastic pots, bark and coir potting media has replaced soils, and NIASA Accreditation standards are strictly adhered to. Machinery is now an integral aid to the labour force and rolling trolleys have streamlined despatch procedures. Computers of course are common place from sprinkler controllers thru to accounting packages. Change and growth has evolved the company into a leading production nursery, but that long-standing culture of offering quality plants and service to both the garden centre and landscape industries has remained a constant.

The  Warner’s trademark
The art of grooming plants to market quality has passed on thru the years. The old - timers were "nurseryman" in the truest sense of the word and the skills they perfected are still practiced today by the new breed of family members and long - time employees.
The range of plants grown however has changed over the years, following the fads and fashions. Nowadays evergreen trees and shrubs predominate and large numbers of advanced Magnolia "Little Gem", Michelias, Lillipillies and a range of strap
leaf foliage plants now grow alongside the traditional Camellias and Azaleas.

2007 sees the baton passed on again to the 4th generation and with it the challenges of climate change, smaller gardens and a new value placed on water.
This web site combines all that knowledge learnt since 1914 and offers our customers a range of best plants grouped together in sustainable garden themes.
Enjoy the journey and use our information to design and construct the gardens of the future.
In the words from a 1930’s Warners catalogue “the value of trees and shrubs to a home, to our schools, churches, parks, and streets, must be apparent to every thinking person; for in a few years they not only give beauty and distinction to a property, but considerably add to its value.”