THE fuchsia's bright for what is now a hardy annual flower show - thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts such as Ray O'Brien.

Visitors to this weekend's Durham and Northumberland Fuchsia Society annual show may be confused about the season when they see his latest off-beat floral creation.

For the gardening guru, a leading member of the society, decided to produce a winter fuchsia theme for recent shows.

Mr O'Brien carefully nurtured his favourite flowers to create the winter look, in mid-summer, in his colourful garden in Gilesgate Moor, Durham, and added a snow scene setting.

It went down well with visitors to the recent Gateshead Summer Flower Show and so Ray plans to repeat the exhibit at the Durham and Northumberland society's 22nd annual fuchsia show, at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, on Saturday and Sunday.

"It was a tongue in cheek thing, I suppose," said Mr O'Brien, a regular exhibitor at the show.

"I did a log cabin and sledge and added the artificial snow to complete the look. It went so well and attracted a lot of attention at the Gateshead show, so I thought that I would do it again at Spennymoor this weekend."

Ray's winter wonderland is one of many exhibits at the event, which also features fuchsia classes, short talks on fuchsia culture and a question and answer session.

The show runs from 1pm until 5pm on Saturday and between 10am and 4.30pm on Sunday.

Further details are available from show manager Tony Lawson, on (01325) 466996.