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.

The secret gardener - Ben Shepherd

The secret gardener - Ben Shepherd
When he’s not presenting TV programmes including Good Morning Britain, Ben Shepherd enjoys spending time in his garden with his wife Annie and two boys Sam and Jack. Pictures of...
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Vlog - The Plant-Based Podcast

Vlog - The Plant-Based Podcast
In the newly revamped plant-based podcast, Michael and Ellen discuss everything from garden design to growing your own fruit and vegetables, with lots of tips along the way.  The pair...
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Technology in the garden - low energy patio heaters

Technology in the garden - low energy patio heaters
Aside from blankets and layers, you might think that firepits are the most eco-friendly way of keeping warm outside, but unless you do your own logging, wood has to be...
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Body, soul and gardening - Japanese gardens

Body, soul and gardening - Japanese gardens
The Japanese have been creating beautiful, balanced gardens for centuries.  These carefully curated versions of the natural landscape create a calm space designed for contemplation.  So, what are some of...
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The secret gardener - Kate Garraway

The secret gardener - Kate Garraway
The TV and radio presenter has talked about how her garden has been a great comfort, while her husband Derek Draper continues to suffer the effects of Covid 19. Their...
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Cut flower corner - what to pick this month

Cut flower corner - what to pick this month
Creating displays from garden flowers is fun and creative, and the act of scouring the garden for colour each month will help ensure you have flowers to pick all year...
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Garden trends- Hedges, a designer's favourite

Garden trends- Hedges, a designer's favourite
As well as covering boundaries, hedges define the structure of a garden, anchoring the design, creating stability and acting as a crisp foil to more ephemeral planting.  Designers are finding...
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Head Gardener Q&A - Pat Havers from Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire

Head Gardener Q&A - Pat Havers from Waterperry Gardens, Oxfordshire
Tell us about your journey to head gardener here and what you love about it? My mum used to work at Waterperry so I’ve been around the garden all my...
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Technology in the garden - bringing on sound

Technology in the garden - bringing on sound
With the weather warming up and garden gatherings back on the cards, you might want to liven up the atmosphere with a little music.  There’s an increasing range of wired...
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Vlog - Simplify Gardening

Vlog - Simplify Gardening
Gardening vlogger Tony O’Neill is a full- time firefighter, but his real passion is gardening and he has created a YouTube channel to offer practical advice on growing organic food...
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Technology in the garden - Recycled scissors

Technology in the garden - Recycled scissors
A good pair of scissors is always useful for gardeners for cutting twine, snipping herbs or a spot of deadheading.  And the good news is Fiskars, makers of the iconic...
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Cut flower corner - spring is in the air

Cut flower corner - spring is in the air
Pretty bulbs are springing up now in the garden, and although it can feel a shame to pick them, making a small posy to admire up close adds freshness to your house. ...
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Podcast - Mic the gardener

Podcast - Mic the gardener
A passionate gardener and designer, Mike Palmer has recently launched his own podcast.  He already had a busy Instagram account where you can see him live on his ‘Sunday Stroll’, showing...
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Garden trends - romantic gardens

Garden trends - romantic gardens
Dreamy romantic gardens seem to be having a revival in the world of garden design.  Their untamed wildness ties in with the trend for naturalism and there’s something comforting about...
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Gardening heroine - Charlotte Rowe

Gardening heroine - Charlotte Rowe
Charlotte has established a hugely successful garden design business creating stylish and elegant contemporary gardens.  She also won a Gold medal at the 2014 RHS Chelsea Flower Show as well...
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Cherry blossom

Cherry blossom
The sight of billowing pink or white cherry blossom against a cloudless blue sky is a joy to behold.  In fact, this vision gave such comfort during the first Covid lockdown...
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Body, soul and gardening - relaxing sounds

Body, soul and gardening - relaxing sounds
Immersing yourself in the sensory elements of the garden is a great way of creating a haven from the busy world.  And while the health benefits of a garden’s visual...
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Body, soul and gardening - enjoy being alone

Body, soul and gardening - enjoy being alone
Some of us enjoy being alone more than others.  But if Covid has meant spending more time in your own company than you’d like, research by the RHS shows that...
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Garden trends - brilliant bricks

Garden trends - brilliant bricks
Designers are increasingly turning to bricks and clay pavers, to add warmth, character, texture and pattern to hard landscaping.  Reclaimed-style bricks have a rustic charm that work well in a...
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Head gardener Q&A - Neil Miller of Hever Castle, Kent

Head gardener Q&A - Neil Miller of Hever Castle, Kent
Tell us about your journey into horticulture After being made redundant from my job as a broker, I started my own gardening business and trained in horticulture.  I saw an...
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Cut flower corner - early spring bounty

Cut flower corner - early spring bounty
You’d be surprised how much there is in the garden in February to pick and bring inside.  Snowdrops, primroses, violets, aconites, or anything else you can find, make pretty posies. ...
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