Whiff of spring in the air...

There's still snow on the ground in some parts of the region and yet it's almost time for Harrogate's spring flower show. Just a few weeks to go to what will, hopefully, be a riot of colour and scent and a show which gardeners and many non-gardeners regard in a similar way to the snowdrop – a harbinger of spring, a promise of better weather to come.

So, roll on Harrogate, where the show's organisers are promising plenty of new things for 2010. But one thing they can't promise is the shoe designer Jimmy Choo. He won't be heading for the Yorkshire spa town; instead, he is preparing to open the first Malaysian show garden at May's RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Last year, Penang-born Choo was appointed as Malaysia's new tourism ambassador – so the first full-size tropical garden in Chelsea's history just has to have a VIP to open it. Chelsea Flower Show show is open to the public between May 25 and 29.

For those further north, the Harrogate show (April 22-25) is something not to be missed. It's the first major independent horticultural show of the season and will boast more than 100 of the country's leading horticultural nurseries, all exhibiting and competing for Best in Show and the NEHS Trophy.

The Wakefield & North of England Tulip Society joins the Daffodil Society to put on two spectacular shows in the Plant Societies marquee, while many national plant societies will have exhibits, demonstrations and information. There will also be floristry and flower arranging, a cookery theatre, garden design competition and all the usual garden sundries. Log on to www.flowershow.org.uk

For further information on the Chelsea Flower Show, go to http://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/chelsea/index.asp