Florist Steve Pattinson plans to work through the night at the Chelsea Flower Show tomorrow to try to win a medal as a tribute to his late wife, Stephanie.

He will travel to London from Darlington with a van load of orchids and other blooms and then spend up to ten hours creating a seven-piece display on the theme of the opera Madam Butterfly.

Mrs Pattinson, who died from cancer 17 months ago aged 41, scored many medal successes at the show over the years, winning one gold, one silver gilt, two silvers and two bronzes.

She also worked all night on her displays at Chelsea.

She ran one of the family's shops, Richardsons, in Galgate, Barnard Castle, County Durham, while her husband looked after their other, Direct Flowers, in Neasham Road, Darlington.

Mr Pattinson will go to London with Denise Spooner, who was trained in flower arranging by Stephanie and still works in the Barnard Castle shop. She will work with him on the display, in a class for professional florists.

Mr Pattinson said yesterday: "We would love to win a medal for Stephanie's sake. She always loved going to the show and put a great deal of effort into her arrangements for it. We are making this effort for her."

His display will be dedicated to the Holistic Cancer Care Project at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough.

The project was being planned as Mrs Pattinson was dying. She was a great admirer of it, though it was too late to help her.

Mr Pattinson said: "We will put up a notice about the project, with its website number - www.hccp.org.uk - so people can get in touch with it. We want to spread news of the project as far as possible."

Sally Lyons, fundraiser for the project, which has helped about 250 cancer patients and their families in the past year, said yesterday, "We are grateful to Steve and Denise for their efforts. We hope they do well at the show. The more support we receive the more people we can help in future."

The Holistic Cancer Care Project gives complementary treatments such as aromatherapy, reflexology and reike massage, as well as counselling, to patients and their families. At the moment it can help about 10 per cent of the 2,500 patients each year in an area between Scarborough, Brough and Peterlee.