THE MODERN MINT BLOG
A s we have already blogged about, this week is National Nurseries Week. So here are three more nurseries you should get to know because they are knowledgeable and grow great plants.
1) Margery Fish Plant Nursery, Somerset
Established by Margery Fish in the 1950’s, go here if you are a galanthophile or a lover of cottage garden plants.
Still growing over 80% of their stock in nursery beds, this is THE nursery to go to if you want azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias.
3) Spring Reach Nursery, Surrey
They are not a garden centre – do not expect a tea room! What you will get is great advice, especially in plants for difficult places. Problem with rabbits? Speak to them about their range of rabbit proof plants.
Books by Glendoick’s Managing Director Kenneth Cox:
Rhododendrons and Azaleas: A Colour Guide
Scotland for Gardeners: The Guide to Scottish Gardens, Nurseries and Garden Centres
The Amelia Project – Episode 88: Didius Julianus
Friends of mine write a sitcom podcast called The Amelia Project (I wrote about this years ago, when they started it….!) December 2024 I had some fun playing the tiny part of Fornio in episode 88 – Didius Julianus. I have not listened to the episode yet, as I am clearly not an actor… and the thought of listening to my dulcet tones for the few minutes I’m in it just… makes me feel ill. But the recording and being in the studio was great fun, the real actors were hilarious and the script is brilliant – not just funny, …
Waltham Place Topiary Workshop 2026
With the European Boxwood and Topiary Society, I run two workshops each year at Waltham Place, one of my favourite gardens. The next topiary workshop there will be on Friday September 4th 2026. Details and how to book yet to be announced, but get in touch with them now to get on the waiting list, as last year we had double the amount of people wanting a place than we had space for. The Waltham Place website is here – topiary workshop 2026. See the teaching page for how else I can help you with the topiary in your garden …
Box Hill – Novella by Adam Mars-Jones
I picked this book up back in 2020 because of the title – Box Hill – fabulous, I thought, a book about boxwood. I’ll peruse this for its respective thoughts on the plant I clip most when I make topiary. I didn’t read the blurb on the back. Didn’t know the author (although I knew the publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions, as I love many of the essays they have published… so trusted the author would be worth spending time with.) By page 2 I realised this novel wasn’t quite what I had expected. I started the book at 10pm, after getting …