THE MODERN MINT BLOG

Mar14

Topiary Skills Workshop Waltham Place

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.

waltham place talk

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.

waltham place
Oct29

The Amelia Project – Episode 88: Didius Julianus

Friends of mine write a sitcom podcast called The Amelia Project (I wrote about this years ago, when they started it….!) December 2024 I had some fun playing the tiny part of Fornio in episode 88 – Didius Julianus. I have not listened to the episode yet, as I am clearly not an actor… and the thought of listening to my dulcet tones for the few minutes I’m in it just… makes me feel ill. But the recording and being in the studio was great fun, the real actors were hilarious and the script is brilliant – not just funny, …

READ MORE

Oct29

Waltham Place Topiary Workshop 2026

With the European Boxwood and Topiary Society, I run two workshops each year at Waltham Place, one of my favourite gardens. The next topiary workshop there will be on Friday September 4th 2026. Details and how to book yet to be announced, but get in touch with them now to get on the waiting list, as last year we had double the amount of people wanting a place than we had space for. The Waltham Place website is here – topiary workshop 2026. See the teaching page for how else I can help you with the topiary in your garden …

READ MORE

Aug04

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 …

READ MORE