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.

Body, soul and gardening - perennial vegetables

Body, soul and gardening - perennial vegetables
Perennial vegetables are a particularly sustainable way of growing produce.  You only need to plant them once and they live for years, saving on seed, potting compost, water and time....
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Q&A with Asa Gregers, Head Gardener at The Beth Chatto Gardens

Q&A with Asa Gregers, Head Gardener at The Beth Chatto Gardens
What led you to The Beth Chatto Gardens? My grandparents and parents were keen gardeners and I always enjoyed working outside, but after doing lots of different jobs, it wasn’t...
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Body, soul and gardening - the cooling power of plants

Body, soul and gardening - the cooling power of plants
With temperatures rising and heat waves more common, plant foliage could help temper the sun’s scorching rays.  While buildings and hard surfaces raise temperatures by absorbing and reflecting the day’s...
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Garden trends - beyond the grass lawn

Garden trends - beyond the grass lawn
There’ s something timelessly beautiful about a well-kept lawn, but the latest trend is the ‘tapestry lawn’, an alternative to the normal grass, created using a combination of many different...
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Plant of the month - hydrangeas

Plant of the month - hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are gorgeous shrubs.  Their voluptuous flower heads make a fabulous statement in the summer garden and many take on pinky hues into autumn. There are masses of varieties to...
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The secret gardener - Rupert Everett

The secret gardener - Rupert Everett
The Golden Globe-nominated actor, writer and director, famed for Another Country, My Best Friend’s Wedding and more recently playing Oscar Wilde in The Happy Prince, which he wrote and directed,...
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Podcast - Joe Gardener

Podcast - Joe Gardener
American gardener Joe Lamp’l presents this interesting and informative podcast in an accessible and encouraging way. He’s a great presenter with bags of gardening advice to share.  There’s a good...
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Technology in the garden - cordless hedge trimmers

Technology in the garden - cordless hedge trimmers
If your hedges need a trim, cordless hedge trimmers are a great investment and avoid balancing dangerously on top of a ladder with a pair of shears in hand. A...
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Body, soul and gardening - the joys of foraging

Body, soul and gardening - the joys of foraging
From elderflowers to nettles, wild garlic to blackberries, there are so many wild plants to pick and eat.  And foraging for this delicious, nutritious and free bounty has a host...
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Garden trends - yellow is having a come-back

Garden trends - yellow is having a come-back
People are often wary and even snobbish about yellow flowers.  Yet from primroses and daffodils heralding spring to heleniums radiating autumn sun, it’s one of the most joyful colours to...
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The Secret Gardener - Deborah Meaden of Dragon's Den

The Secret Gardener - Deborah Meaden of Dragon's Den
The star of BBC’S Dragon Den is a highly successful business woman, but she also gets some of her greatest fulfilment from her garden and surrounding land in rural Somerset....
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Q&A with Errol Fernandes, Head Gardener at London's Horniman Museum

Q&A with Errol Fernandes, Head Gardener at London's Horniman Museum
Tell us about your route into horticulture?I initially studied fine art and earned my living from art for about ten years before training to become a psychotherapist.  But gardening and the...
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YouTube channel - Suttons

YouTube channel - Suttons
Once you’ve chosen the seeds from the catalogue, it’s useful to watch the seed company’s selection of videos representing their various ranges.  Rob Smith demonstrates everything from how to grow...
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Technology in the garden - Turning composter

Technology in the garden - Turning composter
There are so many benefits of composting such as improving your carbon footprint by recycling your kitchen and garden waste and producing your own compost to enrich your soil and...
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Q&A with herb expert, Jekka McVicar

Q&A with herb expert, Jekka McVicar
Tell us about your journey into horticulture?  My love of herbs came from my mother, who was a wonderful cook and always cooked with fresh herbs and vegetables from her garden. ...
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Body, soul and gardening - mycorrhizal fungi for healthy plants and people

Body, soul and gardening - mycorrhizal fungi for healthy plants and people
Healthy plants and edibles grown in soil that’s in the best possible condition will ensure that they – as well as us who eat them – thrive.  And the more...
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Garden trends - pleached trees

Garden trends - pleached trees
Trees trained into architectural shapes such as pleached trees have been used in large formal gardens since the 17th Century.  In recent years they’ve become increasingly popular with contemporary designers...
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Plant of the month - geraniums

Plant of the month - geraniums
Hardy perennial geraniums are the quiet doers of the garden.  They’re reliable, tough and incredibly useful at filling gaps, especially around the woody stems of shrubs like roses and smothering...
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Podcast - The Scottish Garden Podcast

Podcast - The Scottish Garden Podcast
Scotland, with its temperate climate and clear air, makes for stunning gardens and in this podcast, Julianne Robertson explores Scottish gardens, nurseries and horticultural events, talking to a host of...
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Technology in the garden - eco-friendly seed trays

Technology in the garden - eco-friendly seed trays
Seed sowing season is here in earnest – which means you’ll need something to germinate them in.  Hundreds of millions of the plastic seed trays sold every year are sent...
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Plant of the month - Clematis

Plant of the month - Clematis
Clematis are fabulous for clambering through roses, up fences, walls and over shrubs and pergolas.   There’s one for every month - the more the merrier we say!  For spring, March...
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