THE MODERN MINT BLOG
We design and build gardens in Essex and London – at least, that’s the simple nuts and bolts answer.
But we are also influenced by writers like Seth Godin…
How inspiring is his advice below on how your business could behave?
Focus on doing the work
Relentlessly get better
Ship the work
Rack up small wins
Earn one fan at a time
This encapsulates beautifully what we are trying to do and could just as well be the ‘About Us’ page on the Modern Mint website.
We would love to hear from you about transforming your outdoor space. Perhaps you have some ideas already, or perhaps you need inspiration. Well we are here to inform you, present to you the hidden gems and important issues and encourage you to try something you didn’t even know was possible.
Earning one fan at a time making gardens that suit the 21st Century is exactly what Modern Mint is about.
Here are our other recommendations for Seth Godin books:
Topiary Workshop 2026 at Waltham Place
The next topiary workshop I will be teaching is now live on the website and can be booked! Just visit Waltham Place to get a ticket for the Topiary Workshop I will be teaching on Friday September 4th at Waltham Place. Myself and Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society (Buxus expert! Like, he knows everything there is to know about the plant! So worth booking just to tap into his knowledge….!) will be teaching here for the… fifth year in a row I think? The garden is a beautiful place to spend time clipping. We will teach …
Michael Gibson, New York Topiary Art!
In the New York Times earlier this year was a lovely interview with Michael Gibson, who makes topiary and gardens in New York. The article is here but you may not have access… however, search the internet, find it and have a read. It is great! His philosophy of pruning is especially worth it… Sacred geometry in topiary? Yes please! What a phrase! I think (and speak) of balance, of major and minor, of leaf volume… but sacred geometry might well make it into my topiary teaching lexicon! And the idea of directional trimming? I realise I do this, but …
Topiary Library
I do a lot of teaching topiary. I had the opportunity from my mentor, Charlotte Molesworth, to work on her garden and experiment and test techniques and generally try making shapes without the worry of failure, or being fired, or being sued and run out of business for getting it wrong. This opportunity was essential (along with Charlotte’s insistance that pruning standards had to be high!) in becoming better at topiary. When I look around the world at our cultural vitamins, what we see in the media day in and day out, I see the stupidest and grossest of people …