BONSAI plants may be miniature but taking 35 of them to the Chelsea Flower Show will be no small task for gardening expert Reg Bolton.

Reg, of Stratton, a member of the Swindon Bonsai society, is already gathering plants ready for a display of European and Oriental trees at the annual event this month.

And he plans to visit Birmingham and Brighton to add to his collection.

Reg, along with five other volunteers, will represent the Federation Of British Bonsai.

The society was first selected for the show in 1995 after it won the gold medal at Gardener’s World Live in Birmingham in 1994.

Reg, a keen Bonsai grower with 31 of his own trees, plans to display an elm which he started growing in 1969.

Although it takes a day for the team to set up he is looking forward to the weekend.

He said: “It’s hard work, you think ‘why am I doing this?’ “But when you get the stall set up then you know it’s worth it.

“We always get pleasant feed-back from the general public.”

Above all, Reg hopes to encourage bonsai growing by dispelling several myths and giving advice to new gardeners.

According to Reg most bonsai plants fail because people keep them indoors.

He said: “There’s nothing different from a bonsai to a tree that grows in a field.

“It’s commonsense, as long as you keep them well watered they will thrive.”

This will be the 13th time Reg has set up a stand at the Flower Show, after visiting Chelsea for the first time in 1996.

This year he will display the trees on individual horticultural stands and frame them with a dark mahogany backdrop, giving them an Oriental feel.

Reg, a retired psychiatric social worker said: “People think it’s an old man’s hobby but it can appeal across all ages,”

“You can start your own bonsai from seeds and cuttings.”

The 2012 RHS Chelsea Flower Show runs from May 22 to 26. For more information, or tickets, log on to the website at www.rhs.org.uk.