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.

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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Body, soul and gardening - successional planting to stimulate the senses

Body, soul and gardening - successional planting to stimulate the senses
One of the most obvious ways of creating a garden that stimulates the senses is with long-season, layered planting that keeps the colour and interest going all year. Bulbs are...
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Garden trends - natural swimming ponds

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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