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We have called our coffee shop at Stewarts Gardenlands at Christchurch Edwards Coffee Shop to celebrate the amazing contribution that our late father Edward (Ted) Stewart made, not only to Stewarts but to the whole Gardening Industry.
Born in 1918 Dad flew Mosquito Bombers in Burma during the Second World War returning to England to find a family Business on its knees. Men had left the Nurseries to fight, many not returning, plants had been requisitioned for camouflage on factory roofs and Stewarts was as near to bankruptcy as it was possible to get. He knew the Industry and our Company had to change.
Combining his love for flying, which never left him right up to his death in 1982, and his desire to find the future, he set off in 1953 to America in a small plane with no radio, landing for fuel and rest in Prestwick, Reykjavik, Greenland, Nova Scotia, Toronto and finally New York. From there he went off to explore the East Coast. On his way home he wrote to his wife and three sisters from Toronto that he had seen the future called ‘Garden Centres’ where companies separate the growing from retailing.
On his return he opened the country's very first Garden Centre in Ferndown in 1955, converting the old potting sheds. Following that success he opened Garden Lands on the 1st October 1961 to huge acclaim. Thousands turned up for Percy Thrower to open the doors to what would be a new phenomenon and certainly the country's first out of town retail ‘anything’.
What is also staggering was that he chose to build a little Coffee Shop here, opening on the very first day. What foresight! Today it is hard to imagine any retailer without some form of catering offer. Some major retailers took another 30 or 40 years! to realise how much people appreciate a quiet few minutes to meet friends and contemplate their day.
A Sunday Times article of 1972 also credits ‘Ted Stewart the Ferndown Nurseryman’ as being the one who introduced container plants into the U.K. meaning that plants could be transplanted 12 months of the year.
A truly humble man who singlehandedly transformed an Industry and saved our Company.
So to Edward, one huge thank you. We hope you will enjoy his Coffee Shop.
With loads of Love
The Stewart Family.
Born in 1918 Dad flew Mosquito Bombers in Burma during the Second World War returning to England to find a family Business on its knees. Men had left the Nurseries to fight, many not returning, plants had been requisitioned for camouflage on factory roofs and Stewarts was as near to bankruptcy as it was possible to get. He knew the Industry and our Company had to change.
Combining his love for flying, which never left him right up to his death in 1982, and his desire to find the future, he set off in 1953 to America in a small plane with no radio, landing for fuel and rest in Prestwick, Reykjavik, Greenland, Nova Scotia, Toronto and finally New York. From there he went off to explore the East Coast. On his way home he wrote to his wife and three sisters from Toronto that he had seen the future called ‘Garden Centres’ where companies separate the growing from retailing.
On his return he opened the country's very first Garden Centre in Ferndown in 1955, converting the old potting sheds. Following that success he opened Garden Lands on the 1st October 1961 to huge acclaim. Thousands turned up for Percy Thrower to open the doors to what would be a new phenomenon and certainly the country's first out of town retail ‘anything’.
What is also staggering was that he chose to build a little Coffee Shop here, opening on the very first day. What foresight! Today it is hard to imagine any retailer without some form of catering offer. Some major retailers took another 30 or 40 years! to realise how much people appreciate a quiet few minutes to meet friends and contemplate their day.
A Sunday Times article of 1972 also credits ‘Ted Stewart the Ferndown Nurseryman’ as being the one who introduced container plants into the U.K. meaning that plants could be transplanted 12 months of the year.
A truly humble man who singlehandedly transformed an Industry and saved our Company.
So to Edward, one huge thank you. We hope you will enjoy his Coffee Shop.
With loads of Love
The Stewart Family.
