THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Logs – Modern Mint
Autumn is arriving and nights are getting colder, so we need to start thinking about logs for the fire.
Why you should use logs from Modern Mint…
The logs we offer are guaranteed to have been seasoned for 1 year, with a low moisture content.
All logs are sourced from the UK – Essex, South London, Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire.
Buying logs from Modern Mint (and so from the UK) helps support work in native woodlands.
What are the best logs to use for your fire?
In the words of ‘Woodsman’ Ben Law, you need to:
“Mainly use birch for firewood. It burns hot and bright, and, when mixed with a slower-burning wood, it creates a good fire. I use birch bark for fire-lighting. It remains by far the best of all fire-starters…”
Here you can read more about Ben Law and his woods… while a more in-depth study of the different firewood to use to keep warm with can be found here at a post we wrote called ‘Best Logs for a Woodfire.’
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 …
The Henderson, Topiary Art Interview on Instagram
In a suit… eek! View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Henderson (@thehenderson_hk)
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….! …