Our
Story
"We love nature, soil and caring for and creating beautiful spaces that make you feel healthy and happy. We love to grow nutrient dense food and plant Australian natives for future generations to enjoy. It’s our dream job, and we’re proud of it."
Blue Gardens started on the Sunshine Coast when Nathan left a career as an aerospace engineer to follow his passion for permaculture-style gardening. At home he designed and built a food forest with more than 30 fruit trees and plenty of flowering natives on his 700m² block. The goal was to create a beautiful space that also grew food for his family and neighbours. The business grew from there, starting with high-end residential property maintenance, where his eye for detail was a natural fit. Along the way he studied syntropic agroforestry and later became a certified permaculture designer, and the same systems thinking from engineering now goes into how every garden is designed and cared for at Blue Gardens.
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Studying soil changed how Nathan gardens. Healthy soil is alive, and we believe weed sprays and synthetic fertilisers are harmful to it, and to our health. That’s why we don’t use them, even when it would be quicker. If you want a quick spray of weedkiller, we’re probably not the right fit. If you want a garden that’s healthy from the soil up, we are. Healthy soil today means a healthier home and a healthier future for the people living in it.
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We don’t do it alone. Early on, Nathan met Tom Southon, founder of Sustainable Gardens Sunshine Coast. Tom shares Nathan’s passion for creating gardens that work with nature, not against it. He brings deep knowledge of permaculture and native garden design, and he’s a genuinely great bloke who clients and the team love having around. Since meeting in 2025, the two have grown from close friends into a strong working team, and today they work side by side on almost every job, from new garden installs and one-off tidy-ups to regular maintenance.
