ORGANIC herb farmer Jekka McVicar has a major task on her hands as she prepares for her last display at Chelsea Flower Show.

The exhibit will be twice the size of her previous entries, with double the number of plants on show.

She is also having to cope with the unusually warm weather, which is bringing on plants faster than normal at her nursery in Alveston, near Thornbury.

She said: "We are dealing with cold nights, but very warm days and it has been really warm in the polytunnels."

Jekka, who has an astonishing 61 Royal Horticultural Society gold medals under her belt, said the display would be her last floral exhibit at the prestigious show.

But it won't necessarily be her last appearance as an exhibitor, as she could return to create a garden.

Jekka, who started her business 26 years ago, grows hundreds of species of culinary, medicinal and aromatic herbs from around the world for mail order and counts celebrity chefs among her customers.

Her Power of the Plants display at Chelsea will feature medicinal herbs, many of which are native to the UK.

She said some might be considered as weeds, including the stinging nettle and dandelion.

But the leaves of the nettle are a nutritional supplement, rich in minerals and vitamins. Its roots and leaves are used to treat urinary and kidney complaints.

Dandelion is useful in the treatment of stomach, liver, gall bladder and rheumatic complaints.

Jekka will also launch a native seed collection at the show. She said: "Native herbs are among the easiest to grow because they're used to our climate."