GARDENER Roger Smith, who turned down a £30,000 offer from a builder for a plot of his land, has died aged 86. When he retired, Mr Smith bought an allotment to extend the back garden at his home in Banbury Road, Bicester.

But when a developer was buying up a group of privately owned allotments in the early 1990s, Mr Smith declined to sell. So the building went ahead without his land and the development became Hamilton Close. Mr Smith’s widow Marion said: “Roger was reluctant to sell because he liked his gardening so much.”

A few years earlier, Mr Smith had sold his market garden in the town centre when the Crown Walk shopping mall was built on land behind Market Square and Sheep Street. Mr and Mrs Smith ran their florist’s in Market Square for about 30 years and lived in a flat above the shop. When they retired in 1986 they moved to Banbury Road.

As a young man, Mr Smith worked on a farm but was given some land off Market Square by his grandfather. He also cultivated an adjoining plot owned by a friend. When a butcher’s shop relocated from Market Square to Sheep Street, he was able to buy the shop, which he supplied with flowers he grew on his land.

His wife ran the shop and, in addition to growing flowers, Mr Smith sometimes made wreaths. He also often allowed women who decorated churches to help themselves to flowers from his plot. Mr Smith was also a judge at horticultural shows in villages near Bicester. Although the family still owns the premises, the shop is now occupied by Proctors Florists. Mr Smith married the then Marion Redfern, whose parents ran the White Hart pub in Sheep Street, Bicester.

In the 1950s and 1960s, his father Fred was owner and editor of the Oxford Mail’s sister paper the Bicester Advertiser. A keen sportsman, Mr Smith played tennis and rugby and was a founder member of Bicester Rugby Club in 1947. When he was not playing he was supporting the club and also served a term as president.

At one time three generations of his family were members.

The funeral service was at St Edburg’s Parish Church, Bicester, on January 27.