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04 January 2011
Eric and the Boar – 1954
Eric Smith was 42 years old in this picture. He kept between 20 and 30 pigs in the 5 purpose built sty's. The large male pig shown here was a Boar rented from a farm in Claverdon for breeding purposes. This was during the Foot and Mouth outbreak in the 1950's, so all movement of animals was highly restricted. The Boar was rented for a period of 28 days. Without the threat of disease and restricted movement, Eric would have normally walked the Sows' down Stoneleigh Road to a Boar owned by neighbour – Tom Flavel. The building shown here is stil in use today. The timbers have been replaced with brick, but the roof and main structure remain the same.
Eric's best Sow 1954
Sow shown with litter of young piglets outside the main block of Pig Sty's. The building was commissioned by the landlords, Coventry City Council, and built by local builder Mick Griffin. The old orchard can also be seen in the background. This not only provided a great source of food for The Smiths, but the fallen fruit was also part of the Pigs diet as they foraged. The larger Elm trees in the background unfortunately fell prey to Dutch Elm Disease in the 1960's.
The Ford Major – 1950's
The first full sized tractor owned by the Smith's was a Ford Major. Purchased for £110 from Rugby Autocar in the early 50's, this useful tool reduced the workload to an almost acceptable level.
At the time Eric also worked at the Binley Colliery on the 6am-2pm or 6m-10pm shifts. This allowed him to work the land during all the daylight time he had spare.
The picture also shows the first of the Smith's greenhouses.
Number 3, The Smallholdings, Baginton
The drive up to No.3 still remains today. Although not now used for the Garden Centre, for many years this wasthe entrance used by all the customers and visitors. Even at the date of this photo, 1954, there was no electric or gas to the property. The heating, hot water, and cooking was all from the several coal fires in the property. Light was provided from Calor gas lamps fed from cylinders of gas delivered every few weeks.
The toilet facilities were a mere bucket in an outhouse. This was emptied weekly! Not pleasant to use in the cold and dark of the winter, nor in the heat of the Summer!
The Alton Glass house
In 1954 Eric purchased his first glasshouse. This was heated by a coke fired boiler located outside the glasshouse door, and hot water pumped via 4" cast iron pipes along the inside of the house. Ironically this was more sophisticated than the heating in the 
residential home!
Eric was able to produce fabulous crops of Tomatoes several trusses high. These were sold to local grocers and direct to the visiting public.
The tomato plants were germinated, sown into small pots and the planted directly into the cultivated ground inside the Alton house.
This was so successful that between 1958 and 1962 Eric invested, with the help of Mr Brookes the Lloyds bank manager, in another glasshouse.
The crops remained predominantly Tomatoes and salad crops, but Eric started to diversify into Chrysanthemums and Cinerarias for cut flowers. This moved quickly on to small scale production of summer bedding plants and the beginning of Mrs Smiths famous hanging baskets.
Eric and Winifred Smith c.1955
Eric and Win tend to their crops in the 10 acres of land. Peas, Beans, Potatoes and Brassicas were grown for selling to the small greengrocers and for sale to the General Public visiting the 'Market Garden' that Smith's had now developed into.
With limited access to equipment this really was a labour of love. Just remember that Eric also held a full time job working nights at Cortaulds in Coventry. It wasn't uncommon for him to fall asleep in the field due to exhaustion! It is with Eric and Win's work ethic and determination that Smith's Nurseries pushed forward into a new era.