22/05/2026
So sad to read this I used to love listening to Matthew when he featured on the panel of Gardener's Question Time.
We're deeply saddened by the loss of Matthew Biggs VHM, the much-loved gardener and broadcaster who devoted more than half a century to sharing his passion for plants.
Across five decades, Matthew helped define public understanding of horticulture in the UK, bridging the worlds of professional practice, gardening history and everyday experience with rare generosity and warmth.
Best known to millions as a long‑serving panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, Matthew – a trained plantsman, natural teacher, and meticulous historian of horticulture, has also been a powerful advocate for gardens as places of refuge and healing.
In December 2020 he was diagnosed with bowel cancer and spoke openly about the experience and the role that gardening played in sustaining him through treatment. While receiving treatment at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Hertfordshire, he led a major project to transform the hospital’s outdoor spaces into a genuine healing garden.
His career was crowned with the award of the Victoria Medal of Honour in May 2026. Limited to 63 living recipients at any one time, the VMH is reserved for gardeners who have made an exceptional and lasting impact on the practice, promotion or understanding of gardening.
Our thoughts are with Matthew's family and with everyone who knew and loved him.
Read more about Matthew Biggs' life and lasting legacy: https://www.rhs.org.uk/about-us/articles/matthew-biggs
