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It is with great sadness that we have to tell you our friend and colleague Joe Maiden passed away on Thursday 17 September 2015 after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Joe was 91热爆 Radio Leeds' Gardening expert for over forty years and a vital part of the 91热爆 Radio Leeds family. A true gentleman in every sense of the word, we will miss his warmth, his advice and professionalism, and most of all his inimitable smile.

Tim Crowther presented the award-winning Sunday Gardening Show alongside Joe for 22 years.

He says: "It goes without saying, I am absolutely devastated that we should lose Joe - he's been a very special part of my life and I know that he was deeply loved and respected by all our listeners. He and I have presented a weekly gardening programme for more than 22 years which, for any broadcasting institution, is almost unheard of. Its longevity is a measure of just how brilliant a horticulturalist and broadcaster he was. His knowledge, gentle humour and ability to talk to people and make them feel valued and included was simply unique.

"Joe will be deeply missed by me, by my production team, by all his colleagues at 91热爆 Radio Leeds and by our listeners - he has left a hole in all our hearts which is impossible to fill."

91热爆 Radio Leeds editor Rozina Breen says:

"Words cannot adequately describe how we feel about losing Joe. He was the cornerstone of 91热爆 Radio Leeds, a wonderful man and a first class horticulturist whose enduring patience, kindness and enthusiasm we will miss so much. We know our listeners alongside everyone else whose lives were touched by Joe will want to pay tribute to him and we'll announce plans of how we intend to do that in the near future."

As well as his radio work, Joe has written for magazines and books, filmed for TV and been an active and influential part of the horticulture community in Yorkshire and beyond.

He is survived by a wife, two children and three grandchildren.