COCKFOSTERS Tube station is among those competing for the coveted Underground in Bloom Prize.

Almost a quarter of Underground stations, train depots and control rooms are taking part in this year's competition, which aims to recognise the effort staff have gone to add flora and fauna to their workplace.

Staff across London have grown a variety of flowers and plants and even fruit and vegetables at their stations.

Passengers using Cockfosters are greeted by the fragrant smell of lavender from the stone based garden in between platforms 2 and 4.

There are also geraniums, hostas and lobelias at the station. The garden is lovingly tended by station supervisor Hilda Vandy, 42, and station assistant Sean Lewis, 39. who are entering the competition for the second time.

Ms Vandy said: “We just thought we should do something for the station. There's no soil so we had to use pots and we had to do a lot of research to find plants which grow well in the shade because the garden is inside."

Initially the garden had only a few pots but Ms Vandy, who watches QVC's gardening programmes for gardening tips, said customers loved it so much they decided to expand.

Mr Lewis said: "You get so many comments we've received have spurred us on to enter.

"It's a lot of hard work, we come in early or stay late. When it calms down around midnight I'm out there watering the plants.

"Even at midnight people say how lovely it is to see the staion being looked after. That's why we do it really."

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, congratulated the green-fingered Tube workers, calling their efforts "heroic".

Cockfosters passengers are also impressed.

Nirmala Vthayenthiran, 32, from Park Road, New Barnet, said: “I like them, it's a great smell and it's nice to see in the morning.”

In contrast to its name, more than half of the land owned by London Underground is above ground and it includes ten per cent of the entire wildlife habitat in London.

Many of these green spaces are some of London’s best kept secrets and are home to over 1,000 different animal and plant species, although they are usually not accessible to the public for safety reasons.

London Underground chief operating officer, Howard Collins, said: “The Underground in Bloom competition shows that there is a lot more to London Underground than tracks, trains and tunnels.

“The work of staff, beyond the call of duty, helps to create a more colourful and pleasant station environment, which can benefit passengers while protecting and maintaining the variety of wildlife and plants on the Tube for the benefit of London as a whole.”

Judging runs from 27 July – 7 August.