London’s blooming Underground: gardens flourish on the Tube – photo essay

The Underground in Bloom competition showcases the talents of green-fingered TfL staff, who have turned tube and bus stations across the capital into havens for plants and trees, and even fruit and veg

The first official garden popped up at a London Underground station more than a century ago. Now, there is an annual Underground In Bloom competition, run by Transport for London (TfL), for the many stations going green.

With plants grown in everything from used mayonnaise pots to old food delivery crates, makeshift station gardens are sprouting up around the capital, all managed by volunteer staff. Competition categories include the best indoor garden, best fruit and vegetables, best hanging baskets and best window baskets.

South Tottenham station, with Sasha Diamond, whose garden backs on to the station's green plot, tending to the flowers. A pelargonium and petunia peep through the fence