Cubs Florence Jameson, Chanel Dalby, Sebastian Cox-Di Genova, Savanna Hughes, Serena Robins and Adam Torok wih Drew Portlock and Helen Cox at the garden

BLACK tomatoes, flowering tobacco, an avocado tree and a crocheted Queen Elizabeth II. These plants and more can be found blooming inside a secret garden at Kentish Town station.

It has become an “oasis” for staff members and now, visiting Hampstead Scouts.

Station customer service assistant of 15 years, Drew Portlock, is the man behind the foliage.

In 2016, Transport for London tasked him with transforming the previous bin room next to the ticket hall from a patch of rubble into a garden. If you walk down the station’s night entrance bridge you can glimpse the garden’s towering olive tree and lush bamboo, thanks to the sunshine the space attracts.

“This olive tree is ridiculously tall. Everything grows in this garden. It’s like a microclimate,” said station supervisor Helen Cox. It was kept healthy during the summer drought thanks to a water butt on the roof and waste water pumped out of the underground.

“The plants don’t mind the train water. Maybe that’s another reason why everything does so well. We should start bottling it.”

Mr Portlock said: “We’ve got two frogs, four dormice and there’s a fox in here every night. It does kill the occasional bird and you can see pigeon feathers in the morning.”

Ms Cox, who is also a Cub leader, explained how Scouts are unable to get their gardening badge unless they have access to a garden.

“Not everyone has access to a garden or outside space so we thought it would be nice to get the Cubs in to grow some veg and do some gardening,” she said. “They all got to make an announcement on the platform.”

Six Cubs planted vegetable seedlings that are now thriving. Once they fruit, the eight to 10-year-olds will be able to take home the food

.  “It was so lovely this year to invite the Cubs to the garden,” Mr Portlock said.