Kevin Heinze, will be in gardening nirvana, cursing the fact that he died without seeing his beloved Hawthorn blossom after 17 years on the outer.

The gardening guru, who died after a heart attack, aged 81, was a special patron of the club from 2002 to 2005.

Paying homage to her mentor and long-time friend, radio host and television gardening presenter Jane Edmanson said Mr Heinze was convinced if the players tilled the soil before taking to the field it would enhance their performances, such was his belief in the power of gardening.

A pioneer in television gardening, Mr Heinze was host of the ABC gardening program Sow What from 1967 to 1988 and a regular on ABC radio for more than 34 years.

He started the Victorian Schools' Garden Awards and was instrumental in setting up Victoria's Gardens Scheme, later to become Australia's Open Garden Scheme, opening his own garden to raise funds for cancer research after the death of his daughter, Kim, in 1974.

Peter Cundall said his friend's legacy was an extraordinary intelligence plus a burning passion for growing things.

"His great strength was his humanity, kindness and courtesy," Mr Cundall said.

"He was a man of the people and had this amazing ability to communicate with everyone about gardening with immense knowledge but without talking down to people."

An illegal vegie patch next to the railway tracks at Collingwood in the '30s fostered Mr Heinze's enthusiasm for gardening. A decade later he took it on as a career after deciding he wasn't intelligent enough to do much else.

Then came Sow What and soon he was a household name, sharing his knowledge and passion for gardening with an adoring audience who hung on his every word.

He handed over the reins to Jane Edmanson after deciding to commit more time to his garden centre.

Amanda Marshall, the centre's co-ordinator, said Mr Heinze was a generous people-person who especially loved showing children the magic of gardening. "He'd follow things through from planting the seeds to harvesting and cooking the produce," she said.

"He also had a dedicated space for children to grow things that they could eat straight from the bush."

Former Burke's Backyard host Don Burke said Kevin Heinze was the "biggie" in Australian gardening, pioneering the ethos that gardening was about people and children, not plants and landscaping.

"There was an elfin quality about him that was wonderful," said Mr Burke. "You can't compare him to modern gardeners. If Kevin was anything it was a celebration of ordinariness."

So it's "Cheerio" from Kevin Heinze for the last time. He will be missed.

Mr Heinze is survived by his wife, Jill, daughter Jean, son-in-law Steve and grand and great-grandchildren.