Flower Power that opened in Bass Hill in 1971 to close as company looks to expand and diversify

A LACK of space to expand is the reason Flower Power in Bass Hill will close after 44 years of trading as the company looks to offer new products.

A LACK of space to expand is the reason Flower Power in Bass Hill will close after 44 years of trading.

The Bass Hill store is the oldest in the chain of 15 garden centres across Sydney and Melbourne.

The Hume Highway store will close at the end of the month after opening in 1971.

The nursery business pointed to the lack of space to expand its Bass Hill store, its smallest in a chain of 15 centres, as the reason for the closure.

Flower Power is looking to diversify and compete in the market of big home improvement retailers, such as Masters and Bunnings.

An early photograph of Flower Power, Bass Hill, after it opened in 1971.

Stock has not been replenished for weeks at the Bass Hill centre and a closing down sale is reducing available items even further.

Chief executive John Sammut, son of founder Nick Sammut, said while the company was “sad to see one of the original stores close after many years” they were looking forward to the next phase.

“Making our larger format stores a ‘destination’ with cafes, drive-through landscape departments, complimentary business such as pet shops, and a place that our customers love to visit for gardening inspiration and solutions,” Mr Sammut said.

Nick Sammut aged 18 and his young family migrated to Sydney from Malta in 1955.

His best customer for the cement pots and wrought iron stands he made was Lusty’s Nursery on Newbridge Rd, Moorebank.

Mr Sammut and George Lusty bonded and the nursery owner’s wife offered Nick the business for £200 when the elderly Mr Lusty fell ill in 1968.

Flower Power opened its first garden centre in Bass Hill in 1971 although it began as a growing nursery.

Industry innovations took place including the growth of advanced plants, the construction of drive-though landscape yards and the introduction of soil and sand bins, trailer service and home deliveries.