Growing the widest range of plants in SA.
Living Colour Nursery is located in Penfield, on Adelaide’s northside. Our 4-hectare wholesale nursery is South Australia’s largest — we truly are the experts, growing more than 8 million plants annually.
With state-of-the-art equipment, a skilled team, decades of expertise and a commitment to quality every single day, we cultivate top-tier seedlings for gardeners, landscapers and retailers statewide.
Core Values
Excellence
We take pride in growing the highest-quality plants, always striving to improve our processes and find better ways to support gardeners with exceptional products.
Integrity
Honesty and authenticity are at the heart of everything we do. We build trust by keeping our promises, leading by example and being genuine in all our interactions.
Personal growth
Our team embraces continual learning, new skills and creative ideas. We foster a positive culture that develops talents and potential.
Respect
We listen, value different perspectives and treat others with empathy and fairness. By fostering a positive and inclusive environment, we grow stronger together.
Responsibility
Across all levels of our organisation, we take ownership of our actions, hold ourselves accountable, own up to mistakes and strive to do the right thing.
Constantly innovating to lower our impact.
We’re continuously seeking ways to lessen our environmental footprint while delivering top-quality plants to our customers:
Our plant labels are made from recycled plastic.
We’ve transitioned our pots to PP5 plastic, which can be recycled over and over again.
We capture and store 150,000L of rainwater from our rooftops, to reuse across our nursery.
At times, our operation is fully solar-powered.
Our plants are locally grown in Adelaide, reducing transport emissions and ensuring fresher, healthier plants.
Our roots in the SA nursery industry reach back to 1947.
Living Colour Nursery was first established in 1988 and is still owned and run today by second-generation nurseryman Geoff Prettejohn.
Geoff got his first taste of the nursery industry at just 16 while working for his father’s business — the well-known and highly reputable Prettejohn's Nursery, established in the 1930s.
By 1972, as Geoff entered his early 20s, he joined his older brother Lee as part-owner of Prettejohn’s Nursery. This partnership lasted for more than a decade and included strong growth and success of both the wholesale arm and their retail outlet at the Adelaide Central Market.
But in the late 80s, Geoff decided to cast off the responsibilities that came with running a family business and venture out on his own. Living Colour Nursery was born.
Awards
Best Production Nursery in SA — 2025
Best Specialist Production Nursery in SA — 2020
Nursery & Garden Industry South Australia Awards of Excellence
Meet our leadership team
Geoff Prettejohn
FOUNDER
With more than 40 years of experience growing seedlings, and as a second-generation nurseryman and the Founder of our business, Geoff is Living Colour. He’s mostly hands-off these days but takes a keen interest in goings-on to ensure the quality of all our plants and the nursery facility overall continue to meet his high expectations.
Ashley Burns
GENERAL MANAGER
Step-son of founder Geoff, Ashley began his career as a sound engineer. In 2014, Ashley started learning to grow plants and run a nursery — and four years later, he received the prestigious Nursery & Garden Industry SA ‘Young Leader’ award. After seven years of managing production and growing, Ashley took over as GM in 2022.
Justin Ravenscroft
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Before migrating to Adelaide, Justin worked for a large nursery in South Africa. He began his career at Living Colour Nursery managing our despatch department, but his passion for plants and talent for handling complex challenges led to rapid promotion. He now serves as our Operations Manager.
LIVE YOUR LIFE IN FULL COLOUR.
LIVE YOUR LIFE IN FULL COLOUR.
“It makes a world of difference being able to depend on Living Colour Nursery’s consistent and reliable products. I see the full lifecycle of the seedlings again and again across my 30 sites and the results speak for themselves.”
Rebecca Mumford, Greenhill Living
