Potpourri Magazine

Tell us about how you came to gardening as a career? My grandad was an apprentice at Kew and owned his own orchid nursery.  My dad was a gardener and...

Originally a Facebook group, this informative podcast presented by broadcaster Rod Whiting and co-hosted by experienced horticultural expert John Stirland offers an excellent mixture of gardening and design advice. There’s...

Clearing leaves can be time-consuming.  While a rake may be enough to do the job in smaller spaces, a leaf blower can save you time in larger gardens, especially those...

Inky dark purple fruit have masses of nutritional benefits and are packed with vitamins and antioxidants.  Now is a good time to plant fruit bushes and trees, many of which...

Bulbs with velvety dark flowers make a glamorous statement in a garden.  Many varieties look almost pitch black in certain lights, then reveal more plum colours as the sun shines...

Aphids can attack fruit trees year after year if not tackled.  They pierce the cell walls of leaves to suck the sap, making the leaves curl and yellow.  As they feed,...

Dark leaved house plants can give your interior great sophistication.  Here are five of the best. Zamioculcas zamiifolia ‘Raven’.  The waxy, shiny foliage of this dark variety of the popular upright...

Using charred timber in garden design has become increasingly popular.  The striking deep black-coloured timber with incredibly beautiful textures is not only stylish but a sustainable way of treating wood...

Charleston in East Sussex is the former home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Tell us about your journey into horticulture? After university, I taught English in Colombia and volunteered on a coffee farm...

Growing mushrooms to cook with is rising in popularity – fungi even featured at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.  This tasty produce is incredibly healthy, with high levels of...

Columnar or fastigiate trees that are naturally upright make striking vertical accents in gardens.  Varieties such as the upright Irish yew have traditionally been used in formal planting, either side...

When she’s not acting, The Men Behaving Badly star’s big love is gardening.  This is lucky as having moved to a Devon farmhouse over a decade ago with her husband,...

Sedums, or as the taller variety have been renamed, Hylotelephium, really come into their own at this time of year with their flat umbels of flowers slowly turning to deep...

This informative podcast, presented by gardening guru Guy Barter, covers a wide range of topics, from practical episodes on how to grow particular flowers and vegetables to behind-the-scenes reports from...

There is nothing more delicious than freshly-pressed apple juice.  You may be lucky enough to have a friend with a press or a shared community one – these can also...

Sitting near a calm, glinting pond that’s teeming with wildlife is hugely relaxing and makes you feel closer to nature.  In fact, a well-designed wildlife pond is one of the...

It’s bulb planting season, but with the rising popularity of naturalism, there’s an increasing movement towards planting bulbs not just in beds or in pots, but through lawns and meadows...

The glamorous supermodel is tiring of partying and turning to more wholesome pursuits such as yoga and gardening.  After spending lockdown at her Cotswold home in Little Faringdon, she decided...

Also known as a white wood aster, this plant is the star of the show in autumn gardens.  It has pretty clusters of tiny white daisy-like flowers on black stems...

Tell us about your journey into horticulture? I knew I wanted to work outdoors (ironically, as these days I’m more often inside than out) and after working with a local...

In this podcast, Knepp ecologist, Penny Green, gives us a behind-the-scenes insight into the pioneering Knepp Wildland project.  A 3,500 acre estate in West Sussex, once intensively farmed, it’s now...