who are we?

BONFIRE® begonia. Growing like an orange fireball.

Anthony Tesselaar International Pty. Ltd is an International Project Management Company which has a heavy emphasis on the environment including:

PLANTS - Searching the world for colorful easy-care plants for the garden and landscape that are also environmental friendly (disease tolerant)
R & D - Research and Development on drought and stress tolerance of plants - to ensure that they can handle a wide variety of conditions
ENVIRONMENT - Environmental Consultancy and
WATER - Water efficiency in the environment through the use of the latest innovative water saving systems and products

Our head office is situated on 15 acres of beautiful gardens in Silvan, 75 minutes drive east of Melbourne, Australia. We operate within a lateral management structure, our highly skilled core team of people (see below) are supported by an International Group of highly focused outsourced firms and individuals; strategically positioned on four continents around the globe.

What does 'Anthony Tesselaar PLANTS' do?

“We continually search the world looking for plants that are brilliant and colorful, environmental friendly and are easy to grow with a minimum of fuss, and then make them readily available for everyone to enjoy- home gardeners, landscapers and horticulturists everywhere."

Making this possible means dealing with only the best plant breeders worldwide. (Interestingly, over the years we have found that the 'average' time it has taken these breeders to create something special is between 17-25 years!)

Once we have selected a plant that shows these extraordinary traits, they are then extensively tested. We have trial sites in Australia, USA, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand and only after they have been through these various trials, are they entrusted to our grower network. This network of growers - people who share our values of professionalism and quality - then grow-on the plant ready to be delivered to their local garden centre /landscape outlets.

Innovative promotion and market support plays a fundamental role in bringing these new and distinctively different plants onto the market; while underpinning all this is a personal philosophy, based on strong ethical practices and friendships.

It’s a straightforward approach driven by a simple aim – finding exceptional plants that are 'Brilliant by Nature'... for everyone.

– Anthony Tesselaar

Management Board

Anthony I. Tesselaar

President & Co-Founder

Anthony has the benefit of three generations of family immersed in horticulture. Beginning his career with the family business in 1965 - Tesselaar's Bulbs & Flowers, which became one of Australia's largest family based floricultural organisations, he worked his way to Joint Owner and Director, with a focus on the marketing, promotion and mail-order operations.

Having developed an innovative model for the sourcing and marketing of truly wonderful plants, Anthony put it to the test with the release of Flower Carpet® roses in 1992. Based on the outstanding success which followed in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe and North America, Anthony and his wife Sheryl went out on their own and Anthony Tesselaar International Pty Ltd was established in 1994. Since then, other plants and products have been added to the group.

Anthony continues to provide vision and impetus for the business, overseeing all aspects of his company’s growth, to help bring beautiful, easy-care environmental friendly plants and water saving products to the world.

Sheryl D. Tesselaar

Co-Founder

Sheryl has worked closely with Anthony in realising their dream of making Anthony Tesselaar International a world leader in introducing brilliant new plants into the market.

Sheryl has over thirty years experience in horticultural and retail sales, providing an independent overview to ensure the company remains focused on its long-term goals and objectives.

Rodney J. Thorpe

CEO

Besides the demanding role of CEO, Rod oversees all the commercial operations of the company – including finance; administration; legal, trademark and patent issues; to the end of implementation of marketing programs.

Rod has a huge interests in all forms of plants, whether they be trees, perennials or grasses. This knowledge on practicalities of the plant world ensure that we stay focused on plants and business direction that fits our profile.

Prior to joining the company in 1994, Rod worked in Chartered Accountancy for 10 years and with major international service industry companies for a further 10 years.

Phillip Townshend

Global Operations Director

Phillip has responsibility for the development of the business on four different continents. Developing a global business requires excellent project management skills, from managerial, communication, follow through and the ability to handle a multitude issues all at the one time.

Coming from a family that has been involved in flower wholesaling gave him a good grounding in the plant world. More recently, his 20 years in the Navy helped develop outstanding communication skills on ensuring "delivering what you promise".

CONSULTANTS

Collin Sainty

Environmental and Horticultural Consultant

Collin has enormous local and international expertise related to Environmental Landscape Modeling, water use, conservation, horticulture plus plant and nursery management.

A professionally qualified and experienced landscape contractor, horticulturist and natural resource manager with more than 32 years experience and accountability covering some of the largest projects around the world, including the Middle East.