Our roots

Bringing Life into Our Homes

Verdant Dwellings began as a desire to provide top quality plants to the community at a reasonable price. With backyards getting smaller as the population grows, our gardens have come inside and filled every room of the house. It was quickly apparent that there was a great desire for a source of quality indoor plants in the community and the broader area, and from that demand, Verdant Dwellings was born. A profession of Jeff's and a passion of Lauren's, these plants are grown, cared for and loved every step of the way from seed to sale.

Jeff Nielsen-Owner & Nursery Manager + Grower 

Jeff began working with plants when he finished high school. He had always had a love of growing and doing things with his hands, so this was a natural fit for him. After studying Horticulture and gaining apprentice of the year multiple times, he went on to work as a nursery man in a large outdoor potted colour nursery. With his love of the profession and a natural aptitude, he quickly went on to a management roll along side his hands on growing.

As Verdant began, Jeff was Operations Manager at a large indoor wholesale production nursery. He still loved getting his hands in the soil however and therefore developed Verdant Dwellings specialised Indoor Plant Nursery himself. Not only does Jeff enjoy working with the plants but he carries a large volume of knowledge about each variety and how to keep it happy which shows in the thriving Nursery plants grown by Verdant Dwellings. Verdant Dwellings grew organically out of his passion, knowledge, and his desire to allow others access to multiple varieties of quality indoor plants. He is very happy to chat with people about Verdant Dwellings plants and the kind of positioning and attention the plants need to get the most out of them. As Jeff cares for all the plants Verdant Dwellings sells, growing well over half in Verdant’s Indoor Nursery, he wants them to thrive in their new homes as much as their new owners do.

Jeff has lived on the Mornington Peninsula for years and loves the community and lifestyle that is available to his wife Lauren and family between the trees and the beach. He has a genuine delight in getting to know people in the community and so helping them to green their homes ad businesses is a joy to him. He enjoys getting his and Lauren's children involved in potting and plant care and has helped them to pot their own plants and create indoor green spaces to care for. Jeff adores the Nursery plus working side by side with his wife and finds that what he does isn't work as his love for it is so great. Jeff and Lauren cherish working together on Verdant Dwellings with a combined passion to improve their local and wider Australian community and the lives of all they encounter. 

Lauren Nielsen-Owner & Digital Marketing + Communications

Lauren has always had an interest in plants and a love of nature. She has spent many years gardening for stress relief and curating pots and decor for her home. From this and Jeff’s knowledge and experience, Verdant Dwellings grew organically as they realised others wanted to share in these gorgeous plants and bring nature indoors. She now uses indoor gardening as a hobby to wash away the stress of everyday life and greatly enjoys working alongside Jeff in plant care and maintenance.

 Lauren has a strong background in understanding marketing and business as she grew up with a father who ran his own Market Research firm, has run her own business as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine (Acupuncturist) and has multiple University Degrees encompassing areas involved in Marketing, Communication and Product Placement. For her, working on the plants, finding the right way to photograph them and display them on the website, taking care of Customer Service and Social Media, styling the Shop and making sure Verdant Dwellings reflects Jeff and her vision, is enjoyable and very fulfilling.

Lauren grew up, and for years has worked on, the Mornington Peninsula and loves that she can give something back to the community through her and her husband Jeff’s work and indoor plants. Jeff and Lauren are proud to model the importance of community and a good work ethic to their children and often have them hands-on with aspects of the business. Although mostly behind the scenes, Lauren loves working on the images and website and helping plant lovers with information and education. That she gets to do this every day with her husband makes it all the more rewarding.