Last Christmas For Charlie Smith At Ruftys Garden Shop

Posted on December 18, 2022 at 12:01 pm.

Salisbury- Rufty's Garden Shop has been operating in Salisbury since 1957. For 65 years, Rufty's has been a favorite destination for people who like to get their hands dirty with all kinds of plants. But all good things come to an end: owner Charlie Smith has decided to sell the store.

Born and raised in Salisbury, Smith was brought up as the son of the shop's first two owners, the Rufties.

"They were great people and I can't say enough good things about them," Smith said.

Smith originally wanted to be a forester, but after learning the trade for four or five years, he switched to horticulture. Smith returned to Salisbury in the early 1980s and ended up working at Rufty's and has remained there ever since, buying the store in the 1990s.

I started loading trucks. Like the guy with the grocery bags who ends up shopping at the store. It was such a scene, a collection of stories."

When Smith started running Rufty, he started doing things his own way to keep up with business innovation and satisfy people's desires.

"In the early years, we did things a little differently. Mr. Raftery grew old-school plants in metal food containers, metal food containers and the like. Of course, horticulture has changed over the years he's been there. We started anew, we grew something in incubators. containers Smith explained that it was important for the customer to be ready for a new and improved product.

Smith originally had a plant nursery at his home, but then started growing everything on site when the deer became too friendly with his plants. Although Smith is always on the lookout for new materials, he buys local plants, except for specimens such as topiaries and bonsai, which he buys from the West Coast.

"We knew that because I had a background in horticulture. When people came in and had insect or disease problems, we diagnosed them and prescribed a product to fix them. They came here when they wanted to know something, and they wanted know,” Smith said.

Through the years and changes in the market, Rufty has continued to thrive because the agricultural and horticultural business is large and busy.

"Even in tough times, the garden store did well because people stayed home and went on vacation early. They put a hundred dollars into their garden instead of a thousand dollars to go to the beach for a week," Smith said.

People backed off when they heard Rafty was closing, but Smith wants to spend time with his family. In February, her first grandchild will be born. He's still waiting for a buyer, but hopes the next buyer will continue what has sustained Rafti for so long.

“I wish someone would come in and run it as a garden shop. Some people were only interested in the value of the property, but I'd rather stay in Rafti Way. It had such a good reputation that it would be a shame to let it go after 65 years in business without anyone following it,” Smith admitted.