THE MODERN MINT BLOG
We hope to inspire you with these must-read books for wildlife gardening – make time for them, and enjoy!
1) Start simply with Chris Baines…
2) Enjoy the sharp wit of Henk Gerritsen…
Henk Gerritsen: Essay on Gardening
3) We have always been a fan of botanist Ken Thompson…
No Nettles Required: The Reassuring Truth About Wildlife Gardening
4) The lovely writing style of Val Bourne (along with her excellent knowledge) will inspire you…
The Natural Gardener: The Way We All Want to Garden
5) We read this from Pam Lewis in one sitting…
Sticky Wicket: Gardening in Tune with Nature
6) We don’t know this one yet , but we keep hearing the name of Keith Wiley and it all seems to be good…
On the Wild Side: Experiments in New Naturalism
We hope you enjoy these suggestions of books for wildlife friendly gardening! To find more, search Amazon from here…
Topiary, The Art Garden at The Henderson
The Art Garden at The Henderson in Hong-Kong has now opened to the public. I joined the project last March, to work with Gillespies Landscape Architects on the topiary that had been designed for the Art Garden, which gives a calm, green space below the extraordinary Henderson skyscraper designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The garden has been designed with butterflies in mind, so lots of nectar plants, and has other art projects and installations within its footprint. The history of the site is interesting too – it was originally the first cricket ground in Hong-Kong! So still a green space….! …
ClipFest 2025
On Sunday June 22nd there will be Clipfest 2025 at Ichi-Coo Park in Surrey. It is a celebration of all things pruning and topiary, and I will be there in my capacity of teacher at the European Boxwood and Topiary Society to demonstrate tool cleaning and sharpening, and how to clip. Tickets can be found here on Eventbrite. We are hoping for great weather and to see lots of keen pruners getting their shears out and joining us at this amazing garden! And for more on topiary…
Secateur Holders
A present arrived from Norway today, from a student who visited last February to work with Chris Poole and I on learning topiary. His new hobby – a beautiful and neatly stitched secateur holder. Thrilled with this! The holder will save me keep losing my secatuers too…! Thank you Bernt! It was the same student who introduced me to the APA with whom I am doing a talk at the end of March. Tickets can be bought here for ‘Defining The Essence – Aesthetic Pruning in the Garden’. Do join the European Boxwood and Topiary Society for that!