Growing in the right direction

It is hard to imagine Libby McLean ever fell into the category of self-confessed plant killer.

As she wanders among the lush greenery that fills the showroom of her modern new Torquay warehouse, Libby looks like a woman who has definitely found her calling.
But the owner of Arizona Living insists it wasn’t always that way.
In a family brimming with brilliant green thumbs – including an uncle who is a celebrated landscape designer and horticulturalist grandparents – Libby doesn’t mind admitting she once fell short when it came to gardening prowess.
“Despite all my family being real plant people, I was a real plant killer,” she says, laughing.
“I blame my mum for giving me things like cyclamens that I wasn’t super into so I never cared for them.”
All that changed when she discovered the wonderful world of succulents, cacti and indoor plants.
“My partner, Anna, and I found a house with a mid-century vibe and, when I moved in, I started exploring all the succulents and cacti,” she remembers.
“I went nuts in the garden and loved it.
“I started propagating for friends and I did a couple of markets where I painted pots and planted things.
“Then the girls at work started asking me to make them up something whenever they needed a gift for someone.”
Libby started journaling her ideas for a potential business and registered Arizona Living as a business name in 2012.
Some time spent living in Inverloch – away from her previous career in fashion – gave her the impetus to start a small nursery in her front garden and the business blossomed from there.
Fast forward to today and she owns a nursery in Jan Juc, has a vibrant online shop, an Instagram following of more than 15,000 and is settling into the light-filled warehouse space in Haystacks Drive.
The move into the warehouse was prompted by the coronavirus pandemic when face-to-face sales became a challenge and the decision was made to temporarily close the nursery.
But Libby says an expansion and move online was a natural next step for the business which has grown organically over time.
“Right from the outset I haven’t wanted to borrow money or overstretch myself so I’ve only ever done what I can afford and manage timewise,” she says.
“But then I always get to a growth point where I can really feel the growing pains and I have to take the next step.
“Taking the warehouse on was the next step.
“It’s really hard to know in the next 12 months to two years whether we will be able to serve customers face-to-face properly.
“We used to have customers from Warrnambool, Ballarat, Melbourne and Gippsland – people travelling great distances to come and see us but that’s all stopped for now.
“So hopefully the online thing will be really good for us going forward.”

Libby says more than half of her online customers are locals, while she also offers a click and collect service in Melbourne.
The recent surge in popularity of indoor plants is something that has seen Libby perfectly positioned to meet the demand for her quality product which is sourced to suit the Victorian coastal environment.
Among her best sellers right now are aloe fans, purple prickly pears and hanging plants.
Libby says a favourite part of her work is helping people to green their homes and, of course, to overcome their fear of not being able to keep a plant alive.
“My big thing is that I was an unconfident plant person and I love having people come in and buy their first plant,” she enthuses.
“They say, ‘oh, I’m going to kill this’ and I say, ‘no you won’t, you’ll be fine’.
“Then they come back in a month and they buy something else because they’ve kept it alive and they’re sending me photos every six months of how big it is.
“I love that this is the sort of community we’ve built.”
While plants and pots are a focus, Arizona Living is always evolving and Libby sees the potential to branch out into other products such as outdoor furniture and lighting.
But for now, her small team is content to revel in the new warehouse space which is already attracting plenty of attention from passers-by thanks to its eye-catching window display and striking concrete interior.
Of course, there is still one question that has to be asked.
Does she subscribe to the theory that talking to plants helps them to thrive?
“I definitely do. If I bump one of the plants I’ll be like ‘oh, I’m so sorry’,” she says, smiling.
“But they give you happiness and you give it back to them.”
You can shop Arizona Living online at arizonaliving.com.au or visit the Instagram @arizona.living. Next day delivery is available for local orders or a click and collect service operates from the Haystacks Drive warehouse.