Flower arranger Nicky Gurret wants to put Bermuda at the forefront of Britain's garden scene, but first she's going to need some sponsorship.

Every year in May more than 157,000 people visit the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show held in Chelsea, London, England.

One of the highlights of the show is an exhibition of large scale floral arrangements dedicated to promoting different countries.

"It is very prestigious," said Ms Gurret, who has won awards for flower arrangements over a period of several years entering the flower show. "The English love their gardens. I usually go every two years because it is just so intense."

Ms Gurret said entering the show with Bermuda flora can be a challenge.

"I try to transport everything from Bermuda that I can because I arrive in London on a Sunday," she said. "And on Sunday night I am there from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. setting things up."

Her winning arrangements have been featured twice in large-circulation magazine 'The Flower Arranger' .

"When I take plants from Bermuda to London, they have to be checked to make sure they have no disease. Then I get a piece of paper clearing them. And I can only go that night because I have to pick them fresh."

Many times her arrangements have been entirely Bermudian, including one she did with screwpine, which fascinated the English.

But other times, she has had to improvise in a hurry. "The next one I did was called 'Floral Profusion'," she said. "When I went to get my stuff cleared it all did not pass the bug inspection. I had bought $200 worth of gladiolas, ferns and other pieces."

She had no choice but to buy the necessary parts to her arrangement in London. "I had to scramble Sunday morning when I arrived on the plane," she said. " I went to a market.

"I went to Harrods and Victoria train station and managed to get these flowers. The only thing that survived from Bermuda was the Bullrush."

She got a bronze for this arrangement.

"You can get something from the street and it can be beautiful," she said. "Materials don't have to be from a high-end flower shop. I believe in getting something from around you and making your arrangement with that. But sometimes you need that 'wow' factor of a brightly coloured flower."

Now she has to choose what she will do in the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show.

"I will either go for the gold this time, or I will work on one of the larger country exhibits. It is tough doing this. It would cost me at the very least $20,000 to make up a country exhibit for Bermuda.

"You have to be invited to take part in this part of the competition. I have been invited. It is free to enter, but it takes money to bring in soil, and the other necessary materials. I would have to pay if I had to have someone coordinating from England.

"It is hard to get volunteers. If If I put my submission in the Chelsea Flower Show people will want to know who I am working with in England."

She said to participate she would also need to get a group together to help her grow the necessary plants, here in Bermuda.

Ms Gurret said some of Bermuda's tourism competitors such as the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Barbados have been competing in this part of the Chelsea Flower Show for years.

"Bermuda is really behind," she said. "We do not participate in this, and it's a shame. The Cayman Islands have entered for several years. Historically, Jamaica has always entered. Barbados enters.

"In one show the Caymans did a scuba diving theme. They had a diver, plexi glass, a half a boat under the water. They had an underwater theme and they used alpine plants. Another year they did a cottage theme.

"The Cayman Islands have won gold in one show and generated tons of publicity. If you do well you are in the newspaper and on television. That would be great publicity for Bermuda."

In addition to the Chelsea Flower Show, Ms Gurret, an architect by trade, has participated in competitive floral arranging around the world including in Japan and Pakistan.

For more information, contact Ms Gurret at gurret@northrock.bm or telephone her at 295-4597.