Potpourri Magazine

Penny Haslam presents this down-to-earth gardening podcast from her own garden in Cheshire, north west summer. She calls herself a have-a-go gardener and the tone is jolly and personal as...
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Whatever your favourite colour, you can probably find a salvia in that hue as there’s such an array of colours and forms, flowering throughout the summer. Along with the culinary...
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The popular actress has grown up with gardening, as her mum, Dee, has opened her garden for the NGS for over 27 years. The three-acre Hampshire garden has a large...
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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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Perennial vegetables are a particularly sustainable way of growing produce.  You only need to plant them once and they live for years, saving on seed, potting compost, water and time....
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What led you to The Beth Chatto Gardens? My grandparents and parents were keen gardeners and I always enjoyed working outside, but after doing lots of different jobs, it wasn’t...
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With temperatures rising and heat waves more common, plant foliage could help temper the sun’s scorching rays.  While buildings and hard surfaces raise temperatures by absorbing and reflecting the day’s...
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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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Hydrangeas are gorgeous shrubs.  Their voluptuous flower heads make a fabulous statement in the summer garden and many take on pinky hues into autumn. There are masses of varieties to...
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The Golden Globe-nominated actor, writer and director, famed for Another Country, My Best Friend’s Wedding and more recently playing Oscar Wilde in The Happy Prince, which he wrote and directed,...
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Podcast - Joe Gardener

American gardener Joe Lamp’l presents this interesting and informative podcast in an accessible and encouraging way. He’s a great presenter with bags of gardening advice to share.  There’s a good...
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If your hedges need a trim, cordless hedge trimmers are a great investment and avoid balancing dangerously on top of a ladder with a pair of shears in hand. A...
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From elderflowers to nettles, wild garlic to blackberries, there are so many wild plants to pick and eat.  And foraging for this delicious, nutritious and free bounty has a host...
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People are often wary and even snobbish about yellow flowers.  Yet from primroses and daffodils heralding spring to heleniums radiating autumn sun, it’s one of the most joyful colours to...
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The star of BBC’S Dragon Den is a highly successful business woman, but she also gets some of her greatest fulfilment from her garden and surrounding land in rural Somerset....
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Tell us about your route into horticulture?I initially studied fine art and earned my living from art for about ten years before training to become a psychotherapist.  But gardening and the...
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Once you’ve chosen the seeds from the catalogue, it’s useful to watch the seed company’s selection of videos representing their various ranges.  Rob Smith demonstrates everything from how to grow...
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There are so many benefits of composting such as improving your carbon footprint by recycling your kitchen and garden waste and producing your own compost to enrich your soil and...
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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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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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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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