It was a small flat in Pretoria which was home to Hardie Smith’s first few succulents, with makeshift shelves in his passage serving as the perfect display cabinet.
The year was 1963 and Smith was tentatively exploring his love of plants.
Transferred all over the country for work, Smith said his collection began to grow as he got to see different species of the miniature potted plants on his travels.
It was when he made a permanent home in East London in 1987 that his collection really grew as he had more time to dedicate to the hobby.
Growing up on a farm in the Northern Cape, Smith said his love of plants and gardening came from tending his family's vegetable garden.
Fast forward a few years, the avid gardener got a job cutting trees where, not only was he around vegetation daily, but he was also required to learn the different types of tree species in order to correctly identify the protected trees.
After meeting his wife, whom he married 10 years ago, his succulents collection truly expanded.
Currently, Smith has around 600 different species of both succulents and cacti, with an estimated 3,000 plants in total. These were bought from a variety of different places including the Karoo, Namibia, Lesotho, Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn and Hartbeespoort Dam.
“I love plants. Not just plants but trees also. Working with them is just so natural to me,” he said.
“My wife and I travel a lot and whenever we travel, we travel with the idea of visiting nurseries. We always go by bakkie to get wherever we're going so that we can bring some plants back with us.”
Smith's collection includes species such as still Neohenricia Sibbettii, Haworthia Hammeri and Haworthiopsis Koelmaniorum. He has several cacti and bonsai too.
According to Smith, his collection became so big that he decided to start selling some to the public, which he does on a part-time basis from his Nahoon home. He does most of his advertising via Facebook and word of mouth.
“Succulents are popular right now because of the looming water shortages. People are starting to understand them and they know that they're the easiest plants to keep. They can go a long way without water and they're not too fussy either.
“These plants grow out in the wild just fine without anyone fussing over them or watering them all the time so they are very hard to kill. Over-watering is actually the main reason succulents die. These plants are not expensive to buy either.”
Despite his vast collection, Smith said he is always on the lookout for any new plant that may catch his eye...