Foster commended for illustrious horticultural career
The Chartered Institute of Horticulture’s Northern Branch commendation for 2024 has been awarded to the broadcaster Marian Foster.
Foster will be a familiar voice to many as the long-running host of BBC Radio Newcastle’s Garden Mania programme.
The commendation was presented in recognition of Foster’s tireless promotion of community horticulture in the North of England.
The award was presented by Northern Branch chairman Clive Parker on stage at the Northumbria in Bloom Awards Presentation, for which Foster was compere.
Parker says: “I have had the privilege to work with Marion recently as the powerhouse behind the Garden Mania programme on BBC Radio Newcastle on Sunday mornings, as a stand-in gardening expert I witnessed her masterly command of the broadcast: making sure I knew exactly what I was required to do!
“And I know that she takes every opportunity to promote gardening and community engagement whenever she can, making a positive difference to communities in our area.”
She has been a champion of community horticulture through her work as judge and assessor with Northumbria in Bloom, encouraging communities and volunteers to make lasting sustainable improvements to their environments.
Her broadcast career included a time presenting the BBC One afternoon chat show Pebble Mill at One for 14 years and has also been a regular broadcaster from RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
For more than 20 years Marian has presented her weekly ‘Garden Mania’ programme on BBC Radio Newcastle alongside regular gardening experts including John Guy. Through this medium she has been a wonderful promoter of community horticulture and she is a former president of the North of England Horticultural Society and a member of Garden Media Guild.