Gardener was married, and became the father of Nicola Smith (born 1949), the leading British woman player of the 1975–1995 period.
He also won the Sunday Times Invitational Pairs, a prestigious tournament which featured some of the world's strongest partnerships, in 1970 partnered by Nico Gardener.
The Constant Gardener | Nico | The Constant Gardener (film) | Nico Roozen | Nico Muhly | Jason Gardener | The Spanish Gardener | The Velvet Underground & Nico | Serenus the Gardener | Nico Rosberg | Nico Mattan | Nico Mastorakis | Nico Dostal | Nico Zimmermann | Nico Stehr | Nico Salva | Nico Klopp | Nico Gardener | ''The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound''
From left to right: Lou Reed | The Spanish Gardener (film) | The Gardener | Nico Weißmann | Nico Thomas | Nico Smith | Nico Siegrist | Nico Santucci | Nico F. Declercq | Nico B. | Mark Gardener | Henry Wise (gardener) |
She was only sixteen when she played in her first international tournament, at Deauville, winning the teams event in a team which included her father, Nico Gardener, and the young Paul Chemla.