The supermodel and TV hostess is the face of Australian fashion label Sportscraft, but today she's swapping fashion for floral camouflage.

As ambassador for Floriade, Hinze will be wearing a short, one-shouldered dress made of pink rose petals at the launching of the festival today.

Dressmaker Susie Dunn didn't start on the dress until midnight last night as she wanted to make sure the petals stayed bright and fresh.

When Hinze was approached to be the face of Floriade, it was this year's theme of imagination that caught her attention.

''When I found out what the theme was I thought it was something that really suited me and my profession. It's something that I can represent because I work in an industry that's full of imagination ... fashion is all about imagination and creativity.''

So where does the globetrotting swimsuit model's imagination take her?

''Oh, gosh, on all sorts of journeys,'' she laughs.

''I've always loved fantasy movies.''

Hinze has visited Canberra only once and has never been to Floriade.

''I've never seen anything like it before; the grounds look absolutely sensational,'' she said.

''What's so incredible for me is seeing all these beautiful flowers and colours, but all in bloom at the same time.''

Hinze praised the work of the garden staff who finished planting the final bulbs only two months after the first one was planted on April 8.

For more on this story, including statistics on the amount of soil used and the total size of garden beds, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.