Best known for his green fingers, Alexius Ödman also had plenty of dirt beneath his fingernails.

An energetic and diligent man with a distrust in machines, he never shied away from back-breaking manual labour and would rarely rely on help from anyone but his horse, Freja.

When he took over Ögården from his father Johannes (himself a second-generation vegetable farmer) Alexius was just 15 – and already no stranger to hard graft. Every Saturday, he’d bring the farm’s home-produced crops to the market in Lysekil, a journey we can’t picture many of today’s teenagers making each week.

Market day began at dawn, when Alexius would pack his cart with vegetables and drive Freja the three or so kilometres to the ferry point at Östersidan. He’d then transfer the heavy load onto the ferry’s cart and drive his own horse and cart back to the farm, before cycling back to the ferry. Once across the fjord in Lysekil, he’d hire a horse and cart, transfer the whole load over once more and drive it to the market square. After a long day at his stall, it’d be time to pack up any unsold vegetables and repeat the procedure again. Only this time in reverse.

Alexius Ödman was a humble man who loved his farm, his horse and life as a seafaring greengrocer. Money-making was never a major concern and relatives have
described Alexius as ‘a man of small expenses’.

His memory still flourishes within us.