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.

Garden trends - natural swimming ponds

With our summers getting hotter, a dip in your own beautiful and chemical free-swimming pond is becoming an increasingly popular idea. Unlike bright blue, artificial looking rectangular shaped traditional swimming...
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Gardening hero - Nicki Chapman

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show presenter, who has a passion for gardening, enjoys pottering around her newly re-designed garden in Chiswick, London, that she shares with her husband, record company...
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Q&A with Mark Brent, Curator of Oxford Botanic Gardens

What about your journey into horticulture?My father was a (progressive) farm manager and conservationist, so nature was unavoidable growing up.  Seeing  tree ferns and palm trees in gardens in  South...
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Technology in the garden - new generation robot mowers

If you’ve been tempted by robot mowers but not yet taken the plunge, now might be a good time, as a new generation of robot mowers have seen major changes...
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Vlog: The Enduring Gardener

Daniel Carruthers has created a garden in Chester from scratch, charting his adventures on his YouTube channel, The Enduring Gardener, where he shares his journey trying new planting combinations and...
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Plant of the month - ferns

Ferns provide elegant soft green foliage in shady areas of the garden.  They’re wonderful when planted under trees  with other shade-tolerant perennials such as white astrantia and which work best...
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Garden trends - bright colours

We all need uplifting colour in our lives at the moment in particular, and people are increasingly drawn to planting with bold, vibrant hues to create spaces that are uplifting...
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Body, soul and gardening - the no dig method

Leaving your soil undisturbed not only saves you time and energy, but benefits the soil and creates healthier plants…so it’s a win, win. You simply cover your bed with a...
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Q&A with Greg Oven, Head Gardener at Pashley Manor

How did your love of plants came about?My love of plants came from spending a lot of time with my grandparents as a child.  They were keen vegetable growers and...
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Gardening hero - Jeremy Irons

Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons is just as at home in the garden as on the screen and stage.  He finds it grounds him, recalling getting back into the garden after...
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Podcast - Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange

In this hugely engaging and informative podcast, Sarah Raven, Arthur Parkinson and guests discuss their favourite flowers and edibles of the season with masses of useful tips on how to...
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Technology in the garden - heated propagators

As the season warms up and our thoughts turn to sowing seeds, a heated propagator is a great asset as they create a consistently warm temperature to help nurture seeds...
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Body, soul and gardening - encouraging wildlife

The sight of birds, bees and butterflies in the garden is wonderfully uplifting and restorative – and research shows that connecting with nature makes us feel more relaxed and less...
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Garden trends - naturalistic garden design

There’s an increasing movement in garden design towards gardens that take their cue from nature.  If you’re ready to embrace your wild side, here are a few pointers. Don’t over...
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Plant of the month - Euphorbia

Euphorbias are fabulous foliage plants with many displaying brilliant lime green flowers in spring and summer.  Here’s a rundown of a few of our favourites. One of the biggest varieties...
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Gardening heroine - Jilly Cooper

The bubbly bonkbuster author has lived in her picturesque14th Century house in Bisley, Gloucestershire since 1982.  The large sprawling garden is idyllically situated with views across the valley and rolling...
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Q&A with Jonathan Webster, curator RHS Garden Rosemoor

Tell us about your career path so far. My grandmother passed on her passion for plants and gardening.  After leaving school, I started an apprenticeship at Ventnor Botanic Garden on...
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Podcast - Gardeners' Question Time

It’s comforting listening to Gardeners' Question Time on its long-standing Sunday afternoon slot.  But equally, the beauty of the GQT podcast is that it allows you to binge on this...
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Technology in the garden - smart irrigation

If you’re looking for an alternative to hand watering your garden, because it’s too time consuming or because you go away in the summer, a smart irrigation system could be...
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Garden trends - hot tubs

Gardens are working harder than ever, being designed with zones for different activities including exercise, relaxation and entertainment.  A growing trend is to take the well-being element a step further...
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Body soul and gardening - biophilia for well-being

Biophilic design, a popular interior trend that responds to our innate need to be close to the natural world, is said to create a calmer environment and generally make us...
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