Potpourri Magazine

Garden trends - coast-inspired gardens
Resilience is a buzz word in garden design with designers looking to environments such as the coast, where plants are exposed to the extremes of weather, for planting inspiration.  The...
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Garden trends - feeling peachy!
Peach Fuzz has been named the Pantone colour of the year.  It’s the prettiest of colours, soft and warm, sitting somewhere between apricot and pale pink that will add a...
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Garden trends - recycling your plants is all the rage
When designing gardens, it’s tempting to rip everything out and start again with a blank canvas, but as our interest in sustainability continues to grow, there’s been a move towards...
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Garden trends - low impact paths
Paths are one of the most important aspects of garden design, allowing you to access different parts of the garden throughout the year.  They can take you directly to where...
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Garden trends - climate resilient planting
With more unpredictable weather patterns, from downpours and cold snaps to extreme heat and drought, we’re seeing a trend towards tougher, more resilient planting that will cope with extreme weather. The...
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Garden trends - patchwork terraces
Large expanses of stone or porcelain paving or terracing have their place of course, but there’s a movement in garden design towards a softer combination of hard landscaping and planting. ...
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Garden trends - immersive gardens
Designers are increasingly trying to create a sense of ‘immersion’ in a garden, where you feel completely secluded and enveloped in a space.  This can increase the sense of it...
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Garden trends - the new cottage garden
Cottage gardens with their traditional mix of colourful flowers, fruit, vegetables and herbs have a nostalgic, romantic appeal.  This relaxed, wildlife-friendly style is having a resurgence of popularity, albeit with...
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Garden trends - dark foliage
Designers are predicting a fashion for darker, plummy-coloured flowers and foliage with accents of brighter colours in planting design.  This can add depth, drama and a touch of glamour to...
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Garden trends - rethinking weeds
Plants usually described as weeds are having their moment.  Show gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show were full of brambles, dandelions and thistles.  Instead of complaining about them, horticultural experts...
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Garden trends - all about soil
One of the big trends in garden design at the moment is about how we look after and adapt soil conditions to suit different plants, mimicking natural habits and using deep mulches...
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Garden trends- stepping stones
A solid path, or stepping stones in gravel or grass, is making way for something more interesting - stepping stones created with gorgeous ground cover plants.  This softens the look of a path...
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Garden trends - sculpture in garden design
As we continue to invest more in our gardens, sculpture is increasingly being used to add personality, interest, a focal point or a touch of glamour to outdoor spaces. One...
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Garden trends - beyond grey
While grey is undoubtably a useful hue in garden design, it seems to be making way for a more natural, warm palette in landscaping, as well as outdoor paintwork and furniture....
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Garden trends - in the pink
We’re yearning for some colour in our lives it seems as there’s a growing movement towards brighter colours in planting design. In line with this trend, Pantone has chosen Viva...
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Garden trends - alternatives to box
The evergreen structure provided by box balls and hedging is incredibly useful in planting design.  But box blight and box tree caterpillar have meant designers are looking for alternatives to...
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Garden Trends - Shou Sugi Ban - Charred Timber
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...
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Garden trends - fastigiate trees
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...
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Garden trends - bulbs to naturalise
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...
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Garden trends - timber
Timber isn’t a new material, but designers are opting for this timeless classic over other materials for its beauty, strength and sustainability.  ‘There’s a massive push for timber over wood...
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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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