I've been lucky enough to visit the Chelsea Flower Show and nothing quite beats the atmosphere of actually being there and being surrounded, almost bombarded with new ideas for planting and design. However, with the excellent BBC coverage now in full swing I can get my Chelsea fix at home in the north-east when I can't make it to London. There are lots of reasons for loving the North-East life: this time of year it is the fact that the cooler climate means we are a few weeks behind the Chelsea gardens and therefore there is a bit of time to bring a bit of Chelsea to the garden here even this season, as well as prepare for the next. There will be lots more to come this week but I am already wondering where I can squeeze in a couple more David Austin roses and I love the purples and coppers in some of the show gardens. This relaxed but elegant garden caught my eye too...
Finally the sunshine has appeared and in a rare moment of peace we decided to go to Penshaw Tearooms for a coffee and a browse of the plants. We weren't the only ones...funny how a sunny day makes us all look at our gardens, tubs and lawns and think it is time to get planting. There were lots of plants to choose from and it gave us some great ideas for tubs and hanging baskets in a few weeks time when the tulips have finally given up and the danger of frost has past. In the end we were quite restrained, settling on a gorgeous multi-coloured trailing fuschia with quite delicate, small flowers. Now the sun is warming the ground there will be a few vegetable seeds planted this weekend: carrots, parsnips and beans are always popular here and in a few weeks salad leaves too. With patios and terraces in need of a clean and lawns now growing a-pace there has never been a better time to book your slot with Maintenance Magic.