YOUNG mothers are leading the way in environmentally friendly gardening amid worries about global warming and chemicals in food, the Royal Horticultural Society said yesterday.

Green gardening is becoming increasingly prominent at the Chelsea Flower Show and the society believes that this reflects a nationwide concern for the environment.

Andrew Colquhoun, the society’s director-general, said yesterday that young people show more respect for the environment than their elders and their influence is growing.

He said that young mothers are the keenest to keep chemicals out of their gardens and the food chain.

The interest in green gardening, represented by three gardens at Chelsea and more than 20 stands, has been intensified by the debate over global warming. “We are seeing a generational shift among gardeners,” Mr Colquhoun said. “We are seeing, not just within the RHS but more widely in gardening, young women being more interested in having allotments and growing food for their families.”

He said that the distance that food is transported is a factor in the desire of gardeners to grow their own because of the effects of fuel consumption on climate change. “It’s about people having food which they are feeding to their families which they can trust. I think it’s quite a big shift in attitude.”

Research by the society in 2003 showed that two thirds of gardeners aged 15 to 34 refused to use any form of pesticide and this is estimated to have risen to more than three quarters over the past two years. Women are 10 per cent more likely than men to be environmentally friendly.

Dawn Isaac, who, with Lizzie Taylor, won a silver-gilt medal at Chelsea for the Microsoft SoGo outdoor office garden, is a mother and a green gardener. Mrs Isaac, 33, whose daughter, Ava, is 20 months old, said: “I don’t use any pesticides. I grow my own vegetables for the family. I hate the idea of any chemical in the garden getting into the food.”

Jekka McVicar, who was awarded a gold medal for her display of herbs, has won Soil Association approval of her organic nursery and wants to encourage others to grow organically.

“I’ve proved that an organic nursery can produce plants as good as anybody else’s,” she said. “I wish there were more. I know it’s difficult, but I’ve shown that it is possible.”

Among the exhibitors at Chelsea this year advocating environmentally friendly initiatives are Caroline Fletcher and Steven Myburgh, who make swings. The centrepiece of their stand is a brass and oak tree scuplture, which they hope to sell for £50,000 to fund the purchase of six acres of disused farmland to plant with 5,000 trees to return the ground to its original woodland.

Five of the show gardens at Chelsea reflect environmentally friendly themes, including recycling waste, growing organically, planting to attract wildlife and highlighting the loss of Boreal forests.

A range of stands is selling environmentally friendly products designed to encourage nature’s own pest controllers such as ladybirds, wormeries and hibernation boxes to help hedgehogs through the winter .

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