THE MODERN MINT BLOG
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 didnt realise it… that is what elevates a topiary cut so that the facade of your hedge, or topiary, looks so damn tactile!
This is the benefit of coming to topiary from a separate industry – in his case, hairdressing – it opens up a way of thinking and speaking about shaping plants that is a step beyond the traditional thinking about green architecture in garden history.
It is such an art and a craft topiary, and the article with Michael captures that beautifully.
Do read!
And then come back here and take a look at an idea for a Topiary Library…
Topiary Teaching For 2026
A new year, so time to share a few thoughts on what I will be looking at doing with topiary, and the focus on teaching I would like to put in place, for 2026 and beyond. Above is Nandina, made by a student of ours from the European Boxwood and Topiary Society. She took a year to work on this, taking a plant not renowned for being a good topiary plant, but seeing what its weirdness is and what values it does have, then exploring and exploding those. I am thrilled by this. Not just this look for autumn. A …
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 …
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 …