Potpourri Magazine

If you love gardening, our magazine will inspire you. It's a real magazine, not just a newsletter, and it's packed full of interesting articles written by professional gardening journalists. It's totally free and arrives once a month by email. Here is a selection of recent articles.

Technology in the garden - bulb planting tools

Technology in the garden - bulb planting tools
Bulbs are a must for early spring colour, and if you haven’t yet planted yours, there’s still time.  It can be a labour-intensive job, but having the right tools saves...
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Book review - Kiftsgate Court Gardens

Book review - Kiftsgate Court Gardens
Kiftsgate Court Gardens; Three Generations of Women Gardeners by Vanessa Berridge is published by Merrell   Situated high up on a north Cotswold hillside, right next to the more famous...
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Seasonal produce - parsnips and parsnip soup

Seasonal produce - parsnips and parsnip soup
Parsnips are fabulous winter root vegetables that can be harvested up until January, once the foliage dies back.  But their flavour is improved if you wait until after the first...
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Garden trends - low maintenance gardens

Garden trends - low maintenance gardens
Low maintenance gardens are ever popular in our busy world.  A design that includes good structure with plants and materials that don’t need much upkeep will avoid the garden looking...
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Body, soul and gardening - plants to brighten the gloomier months

Body, soul and gardening - plants to brighten the gloomier months
The days are getting shorter and temperatures dropping, but don’t let it get you down - embrace winter’s beauty with cheerful berries, bark and blooms. Berries and hips: As well...
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Technology in the garden - bird feeders

Technology in the garden - bird feeders
Winter and early spring is the best time to feed birds, especially during cold snaps, when their natural food supplies are low.  Like us, different species eat different things, so...
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Podcast - Growing Wild

Podcast - Growing Wild
Charlotte Petts presents a thought-provoking show about nature in both the countryside and urban spaces.  She talks to a wide range of gardeners, designers and environmentalists covering everything from healthy soil...
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Jessica Evans- Head Gardener at Knightshayes

Jessica Evans- Head Gardener at Knightshayes
We interviewed Jessica Evans, head gardener at Knightshayes Court, a National Trust garden in Tiverton. What do you love about the garden at Knightshayes? I was drawn by the plant...
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The secret gardener - Julie Walters

The secret gardener - Julie Walters
Julie Walters is one of our best-loved actresses, but she is just as happy pottering about in the garden as treading the boards these days.  She even celebrated being made...
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Gardening tip - saving seed

Gardening tip - saving seed
Autumn is a good time save seed.  Leave a few flowerheads on your favourite plants after they've finished blooming to allow the seeds to ripen – aster seeds are attached...
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Seasonal produce - pumpkins and pumpkin pie

Seasonal produce - pumpkins and pumpkin pie
With Halloween and Thanksgiving upon us, now is a great time to get creative with pumpkins.  These huge striking orange fruit look almost surreal growing on the earth connected by...
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Garden trends - cosying up in the middle of winter

Garden trends - cosying up in the middle of winter
As the temperatures drop, instead of packing up the garden for the winter months, why not embrace the Scandi ‘hygge’ way of life?  This advocates wrapping up and enjoying the...
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Body,soul and gardening - gardens that bond us

Body,soul and gardening - gardens that bond us
One of the great joys of plants is being able to give and share them.  A garden filled with flowers that remind you of your favourite people appeals on an...
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Body, soul and gardening - beating air pollution

Body, soul and gardening - beating air pollution
As well as being beautiful and relaxing, gardens can also shield us against air pollution from fossil fuels and petrol that damage our health.  According to the World Health Organisation, 90%...
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Seasonal produce - sloe gin

Seasonal produce - sloe gin
The hedgerows are brimming with sloes, so remember to take a pot with you next time you go on a nice autumn walk and gather enough to make some sloe...
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Garden trends - ornamental grasses

Garden trends - ornamental grasses
The fashion for naturalistic planting continues, and key to this soft, unstructured look is using ornamental grasses.  When planted amongst perennials and loosely pruned shrubs, they give the garden wonderful...
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The secret gardener - Emilia Fox

The secret gardener - Emilia Fox
The actress, famed for her role in the BBC drama Silent Witness, loves to unwind in her garden.  ‘I’m a big gardener, I love gardening’ she says, recently telling Woman...
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Gardening tip - Winter violas

Gardening tip - Winter violas
Winter violas are wonderful hardy little gems that will flower on through the coldest months.  Try sowing some seeds now to flower in a few months’ time.  Sow seeds thinly and evenly in...
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All about apples

All about apples
Homegrown apples are a world apart from supermarket-bought ones.  An apple tree, with its gorgeous spring blossom and autumn fruit makes an attractive and wildlife friendly addition to any garden,...
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Technology in the garden - easy top fruit pickers

Technology in the garden - easy top fruit pickers
The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us.  But if your apple and pear trees have grown so tall you can’t reach the fruit at the top of...
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Our vlog pick - Huw Richards: Grow Food Organically

Our vlog pick - Huw Richards: Grow Food Organically
Huw is only in his early twenties, but he has been creating YouTube videos on veg growing since he was 12 and is incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable.  His hands-on advice...
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