Eco gardening is a growing trend and leading the way is Caves Folly of Colwall, a local organic plant nursery.

At the Malvern Spring Gardening Show, there was a dedicated Organic Gardening Corner with more exhibitors than ever.

Every aspect of eco gardening was on display, from Soil Association certified cottage garden flowers to bargain compost bins and natural woodland crafts.

Will Leaper, of Caves Folly Nurseries, said: "Organic gardening just keeps growing. It's getting to be hugely popular."

Caves Folly, which has a permanent show garden at the Three Counties Showground, has been part of the organic corner at the Spring Gardening Show for the last five years but has been growing organically for the last 17 years, long before going green and eco-friendly gardening became fashionable.

"I became ill from exposure to organo phosphates in pesticides so I just had to stop using them," explained Bridget Evans, who runs the nursery.

Since then the nursery has been organic and is proud of the Soil Association certification its plants have been given.

With an increasing interest in organic gardening, particularly vegetable growing, the nursery now stocks organic vegetable plug plants and had a vegetable display garden at the show.

The display garden will be featured at Gardener's World Live at the NEC in June.

Caves Folly grows its plants in peat-free compost and the use of this was being promoted at the show by WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, a DEFRA initiative to reduce waste.

WRAP had its own mini display gardens at the show showing flowers and vegetables growing in peat-free compost.

Maggie Newton, of WRAP, said: "Peat-free compost is very eco friendly because it's made from recycled materials, including recycled garden waste."

Much of this garden waste comes from local authorty waste depots, she explained, and is recycled instead of going to landfill.

For those with the space to compost at home, Worcestershire County Council was offering compost bins at bargain prices along with leaflets and composting tips from its own composting roadshow bus.

Viktoria Salisbury, project development officer for the council's composting campaign, said: "People want to do their bit and be greener and making compost is something lots of people can do."

She said Worcestershire and Herefordshire councils had sold 65,000 compost bins since their campaign started three years ago.