THE MODERN MINT BLOG
It’s that time again, mild panic starts setting in … Christmas gift shopping time! You want to get something good, and not a standard gift you can get on the high street. You want something a little different, something that looks like you’ve put some effort in!! Modern Mint is here to help you with our countdown to the top 10 gifts for garden lovers that are slightly unusual.
At number 10 is a perfect stocking filler – seedballs! Small and in a beautiful designed tin. These come in 5 different varieties, from £4.50. If you want to bulk buy for a corporate gift or you have a lot of friends emails us on shop@modernmint.co.uk for a bulk buy option!
Number 9 The bronze look is everywhere at the moment for interior trends, but why not for the garden also? The Castor trowel at £32 and Nunki weeder at £27 are great looking tools. But there is more to them than their beauty, there is logic behind the use of bronze and cooper in gardening tools. Experiments carried out after the Second World War by an Austrian named Viktor Schauberger showed when used on the land, there was a marked improvement in productivity.
Number 8 Know someone who loves the scandi-cool look? Then go for the Nordeck chair … its sleek design speaks for itself. Prices start at £122.
Number 7 The Mouillere Overshoe (£39.99) from our friends in France. Luc who invented the shoe is the best person to tell us about his shoe – check out this video!
Number 6 Know a keen cook but not such a great gardener? A Grow Your Own Pizza Kit (£11.99) is the perfect addition to the window sill. 
Number 5 Do you know a stud muffin or a queen bee (or perhaps a fun guy)?
Number 3 A reminder of a recent holiday to Thailand? A hint that you like a good pad thai or green curry? Introducing the Thai Curry Plant Gift Set (£46)!
Number 2 Low maintenance and beautiful to look at. These terrariums come in a range of styles and even some seasonal baubles … bit different than tinsel don’t you think?
And our Number 1 is … the giant bean bag! Its come in an array of great colours. Perfect as extra seating when the house gets full and in the summer great for sunbathing on!
Head to the Modern Mint Shop for many more gift ideas!
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!