THE MODERN MINT BLOG
We spent last week working with Charlotte Molesworth in her garden, clipping and tidying some of the amazing topiary that needed a light prune.
Below are some of the of the photos, just taken on my phone and without filters…. what amazing shapes she has created in her garden over the last 30 plus years!
Absolutely love the holly and boxwood hedge in the next photo…. how beautifully does this clip?
This next one is something of an experiment, turning a mass of boxwood into something interesting….
This too is the same – a hedge that had rust, being opened out and turned into a single specimen. Air circulation is important for the health of boxwood topiary!
Finally, a short video….
If you want to see more of Charlotte’s garden, please do note it will be open for the NGS scheme in Kent later in spring, so keep an eye out.
If you think – I love this topiary and want some in my garden! – get in touch so Charlotte and I can help you make that happen.
To see the tools we use for clipping, check the Modern Mint pruning tools page. Thanks!
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….! …