Hi Lynn,

Most of the Magnolias that are commonly grown in the UK are hardy as plants, but the flowers of the early spring blooming varieties can be severely damaged by Spring frosts, which makes them not worth growing in many areas.

Any of the species and hybrids that flower from Spring to mid summer will work fine for you in the North East. There are literally hundreds to choose from, depending on what you are looking for.

All of the yellow flowered Magnolias (M. acuminata and it's very many hybrids hybrids) would be ideal. M. wilsonii, sieboldii, sinensis, obovata, officinalis, macrophylla, ashei, fraseri all flower in summer, as do their many hybrids, so they would also perform well.

To give you some idea of the choices available take a look at MagnoliaStore, where most of the many hundreds of Magnolias are photographed:

http://www.magnoliastore.com/en/the-collection/menu/magnolia

The most beautiful Magnolia I've ever seen (and we have grown 120 varieties here) is probably M. x wiesneri, which also flowers in summer.