THE MODERN MINT BLOG
We are currently writing a book about plants that do a great job of Helping The Honeybee. This means we are always on the lookout for flowers that are attractive to our little, honey making friends.
This week we have heard plenty of buzzing coming from:
Dead nettle
Helenium
Alliums
Veronicastrum
Plus we glanced in a magazine and saw a note about bees preferring dark flowers when they forage in the shade. We will research this a little more for you, but worth making a note of and thinking about right now if you have a dark patch of the garden that you wish to make more pollinator friendly.
Roses
But the bee friendly plant we really wanted to tell you about was this one – the rose. Last week we visited David Austin Roses and got chatting to the Senior Rosarian there, who (we were told) knows more about roses than anyone else in the world.
Quite some feat.
But he said that roses do not produce nectar, only pollen.
Walking around all of the stunning roses in bloom, it was the species roses and rosa rugosa that had the most bees on the flowers – you could HEAR THEM THERE WERE SO MANY. All of them visiting purely for the pollen.
So now you know – if you want a bee friendly garden, add the wilder roses… because the bees will appreciate the pollen.
For more about planting for bees, you don;t have to wait for us to finish writing the book. You can learn more right now as we do the research by booking our new talk for your group – Helping The Honeybee.
Or explore our website further, as we have lots of information about what you can do create an amazing garden space to enjoy, with planting for pollinators that really does help them!
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 …
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …