I’m thrilled to be making my fourth trip to the Chelsea Flower Show and to see the gardens and city of London along with a trip to explore the gardens of Sissenhurst Castle. Not only will we see formal gardens, but also small gardens all through the city. Everyone gardens in London and the city is filled with the color, texture and amazing design which will provide a plethora of ideas for any gardener.

I met Buddy Lee last year at the Mid Atlantic Nursery Show in Baltimore. We hit it off with our love of plants and family connections to the Isle of Man. We traveled to Iceland together in the winter of 2024 and have become good friends. Buddy is the man behind the Encore Azalea. He tells the interesting story of how he bred an azalea that blooms twice in one season.

Lorraine Balloto is the Hydrangea Queen and author of Success With Hydrangeas. She answers the age old question, “why doesn’t my hydrangea bloom?”

I’m sent lots of new seeds to try, but don’t have room to grow everything. If you’ve been gardening for a while and would like the chance to try one of the latest introductions, send me an email and we’ll figure out what we can work out.

I had fun on Pittsburgh Today Live with Boaz Frankel and David Highfield talking about houseplants. I think we need to work on Boaz’s puns though!