Many congratulations to the horticultural champions recognised in this year’s HM The King’s New Year Honours list, celebrating their outstanding contributions to the horticultural industry, charities and their respective communities.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Each and every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities. They represent the very best of the UK and that core value of service which I put at the centre of everything this government does. The New Year Honours List celebrates more of these unsung heroes, and I thank them for their incredible contribution.”
Amongst those being honoured, is broadcaster and gardener, Alan Titchmarsh MBE, who received a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to horticulture and to charity. Actively involved in horticultural related charities, Titchmarsh has been the President of Perennial, since 2004 and is also President of Plant Heritage, the plant conservation and research charity. Speaking to the PA News Agency, he said that he was: “Thrilled to bits, surprised, but thrilled and honoured that I should be thought worth a CBE, flattered beyond belief.”
Gillian Anne Hodgson, founder of Flowers From the Farm (FFTF) was also recognised, as she was awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to Floristry. Hodgson co-founded the FFTF in 2011, which is a not-for-profit, membership association that champions artisan growers of seasonal, locally grown cut flowers and now encompasses a vast network of flower farmers across the UK. She stepped down as Honorary President of the association earlier this year, and has launched the Farewell Flowers Directory to connect people to independent funeral florists offering natural, beautiful and compostable floral arrangements across the UK
On receiving the news, Hodgson said: “I am utterly delighted to be awarded an MBE in recognition for my work in raising the profile of British flowers and for encouraging so many more people to make a career out of growing them for market. I couldn’t have achieved so much had it not been for the support of the wonderful past Chairs and Regional Co-ordinators of Flowers from the Farm who have worked alongside me and become lifelong friends. Over the past decade British flowers have developed from an unknown, often denigrated, product into a top-class brand recognised everywhere for their quality. The tremendous boost of receiving this award means I’m really looking forward to 2025 and working with The Farewell Flowers Directory to bring similar success to the previously overlooked world of funeral flowers, taking them out of the shadows and into the limelight.”
Also recognised in the 2025 King’s New Year Honours List
- Mark Fane, Chair of the Garden Museum (co-founder Crocus) who received an MBE for services to horticulture
- Andrew Wilson, Landscape Architect Garden Designer was awarded an MBE for services to the Landscape and Garden Design Industry and to Heritage
- Susan Medway, Director and Curator of the Chelsea Physic Garden who received an MBE for services to horticulture and charity.
- Peter Hulatt, received an MBE for services to the Camden Garden Centre Charitable Trust
- Professor Gerard Samuel Saddler, Head of Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture and Chief Plant Health Officer for Scotland was awarded an MBE for services to Scottish Plant Health and Biosecurity
- Professor Rosemary Collier has been appointed OBE for services to horticultural science for her work at the University of Warwick
- Kenneth White, co-founder and Trustee of Supershoes (Chairman of Frosts Landscapes) received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to Children and Young People with Paediatric Cancer.
- Sarah Louise White, co-founder and Trustee of Supershoes received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to Children and Young People with Paediatric Cancer.
- Jason Vernon Hutchins, horticulturalist working for the Crown Estate, Windsor has been awarded a Silver Royal Victorian Medal (RVM)
- Katherine Marsden has been awarded a Silver Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) for her duties as a gardener at the Sandringham Estate.