The Zimmermanns were the only tenderer that complied, the government's director of business enterprise services, Phillip Perram, confirmed but he said there had been ''a lot of interest'' in the sale.

Three permanent part-time staff will relocate to the government's wholesale arm of the nursery. The three casuals, who work up to three days a week, have lost their jobs.

The Heritage Nursery and Yarralumla Garden Centre is set to be combined into a single nursery. And Mr Perram said $5335 worth of gift vouchers would be honoured, with the government bearing the cost.

The Zimmermanns have a five-year lease on the nursery shop, with options to renew for up to 20 years.

Mr Perram would not release the price, but said it met expectations.

The government-owned Yarralumla Nursery has a retail and wholesale arm, and has been troubled by financial losses for some years. The Zimmermanns have taken over the retail arm, which Mr Perram said had not been running at a loss.

The government retains the wholesale arm, which propagates plants, specialising in cool-climate plants, and sells them to developers, landscapers, nurseries and the parks department. It employs people with disabilities, has rehabilitation spots for prisoners and has people doing court-ordered community service.

Mr Zimmerman said he wanted to restore the business to its former glory, by focusing on native plants suited for the Canberra environment.

''Native plants are still very important in this town,'' he said. ''Yarralumla always had the basic plants and plants suitable for the Canberra climate and it was just unfortunate in the last few years it slipped.''

Mr Zimmerman said Canberrans wouldn't see many changes to the physical appearance of the nursery yet, as he wasn't allowed to make them due to the heritage listing. ''We have an enthusiastic team behind us who know everything about plants. We are a happy business with happy, smiling staff,'' he said.