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We have named our Coffee Shop Edward‛s 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, Ted flew Mosquito Bombers in Burma during the Second World War. At the end of hostilities he returned 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. Ted knew that 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 of gardening, he set off in 1955 to America in a small plane with no radio, landing for fuel and a rest in Prestwick, Reykjavik (Iceland), Greenland (South Tip), Labrador (Goose Bay), New York and finally, Miami. From there he went off to explore the East Coast and on his way home he wrote to his wife and three sisters from Toronto that he had seen the future for the business, it was called ‘Garden Centres‛ where companies separated growing from retailing. (The letter is still in the family archives).
Edward (Ted) Stewart (left) with his father A.F. Martin Stewart Ted Stewart (left) standing in front of a Mosquito Bomber
Upon his return he opened the country‛s very first Garden Centre in Ferndown in late 1955, converting the old nursery potting sheds. Following that success, he opened GardenLands on the 1st October 1961 to huge acclaim. Thousands turned up to see Percy Thrower open the doors to what would be a new phenomenon and certainly the country‛s first out of town shopping centre. What is also staggering was that he chose to build a little coffee shop here, which opened on the very first day.
What foresight! Today it is hard to imagine any retailer without some form of catering facility. Some major retailers took another 30 or 40 years to realise just how much people would appreciate a quiet few minutes to meet friends and contemplate their day over a cup of tea or coffee!
Percy Thrower with Edward (Ted) Stewart (left) on Opening Day
A Sunday Times article of 1972 also credits ‘Ted Stewart the Ferndown Nurseryman‛ as being the one who
The Coffee Shop, Opening Day 1961
Edward‛s coffee shop is at GARDENLANDS Lyndhurst Road, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 4SA Tel: 01425 272244
or visit our COUNTRY GARDEN CENTRE God‛s Blessing Lane, Broomhill, Holt, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7DF Tel: 01202 882462
www.stewarts.co.uk
introduced container plants into the U.K., enabling plants to be transplanted twelve months of the year. Edward (Ted) was a truly humble man who single handedly transformed an industry and saved our company.
So to Edward, one huge thank you. We hope you will enjoy ‛Edward‛s‛ Coffee Shop at GardenLands, which celebrates its 50th anniversary on 1st October 2011.
The Stewart Family.
How GardenLands looked in 1961
The Coffee Shop, Opening Day 1961
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