girlyswot

So, my question was indeed duly asked and answered on GQT today. Here's what they suggested:

Pippa Greenwood: Silver-leaved pear; any of the Malus trees; winter aconites.

Anne Swithinbank: Suggested a 'woodland feel': Magnolia tree; yew; honeysuckle; Lenten hellebores, snowdrops, narcissi, pulmonarias.

Matthew Biggs: Didn't quite get the 'low-maintenance' part of the question and suggested containers with things like rhododendrons and camellias. I don't think I'll be doing that.

Fabulous hot pink is not only a description of the sofa I have just bought, it is actually the name of the fabric I have chosen to have it covered in. I took some of my curtain fabric and also the quilt top I've made to go as a throw on the sofa. My friend and the shop assistant and I were flicking through the choices and all immediately said 'That's the one' as soon as we saw the pink. I had been thinking about a mid-blue, but I'm very, very excited about the pink. The fabric is 100% cotton, machine washable with a nice textured weave that I think will wear really well.

It's this sofa in the medium width. I like it because it has relatively narrow, non-sloping arms, so you get a lot of sitting space for the width of the sofa. It's really comfy and snuggly.

I did check out the clearance section, just in case. There was one utterly fabulous bright pink sofa with appliqued flowers, reduced from £2200 to £599. It would have fitted in the Old Shed, though I wouldn't have been able to get in the bathroom. The sofa was so lovely that I did begin to seriously contemplate this option. There was also a very nice little sofa in a duck egg blue for just £99 that I absolutely would have bought - except it had already been sold. :( Should have gone last week. Though the pink one will be nicer. ;)