THE MODERN MINT BLOG
I will be teaching a Topiary Skills Workshop at Waltham Place in September 2023!
For more information and to book your spot on the course do visit the Waltham Place website.
In this 3 hour course you will learn everything you need to know about pruning and making topiary – as well as getting some practise in as well!
No experience necessary, just a positive attitude and a pair of shears needed… I can help you sharpen and clean everything up before we begin, so don’t panic if your tools are a little rough!
During the session you will:
- Learn about the basic tools you need for topiary, how to look after them and what to do with pests on your boxwood.
- Take a tour of the garden to see which plants can be used and what it is possible to do with them
- Learn the right technique for clipping
- Get clipping – practise makes perfect!
Topiary should be fun and practical so come prepared to do some pruning – it is, after all, the best way to learn.
And tell your friends about the course. The garden is magnificent, so what could be better than a wander around with friends, then doing something creative? (Having a glass of wine and wandering around with friends? Ok, that is better.. but not going to happen when using sharp tools… for this course, anyway…)
Book a place now on the Topiary Skills course at Waltham Place.
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….! …