THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Saturday marks the start of this years Chelsea Fringe. Here are just a few of the fascinating events you can go and see… …
Ryoan-ji
Last November the Modern Mint team went to view the gardens of Japan (and eat sushi, in vast quantities.) This picture, at the famous Zen garden of Ryoan-ji, was taken at 7.50am on a Monday morning. Hence the privacy. There are 15 stones in the garden, but only 14 can be viewed at any one time from the platform. It is said that if you gain enlightenment the fifteenth stone will be revealed to you. We didn’t find enlightenment, but we did have to get up early, take three buses and then knock on the temple door asking to be allowed in in order to get any time …
Woodpeckers, Essex, NGS
We visited the 1 1/2 acre garden Woodpeckers at Burnham on Crouch over the last bank holiday weekend. It felt like a bigger garden than this, split as it was into different spaces each with their own atmosphere. What we liked most was that each space was clearly defined. It takes a brave owner to do that,to take the plunge and not dilute the quality each space in the garden has been asked to provide. The meadows in the orchard were beautiful at this time of year… … at least we thought so. We overheard one visitor say, “it’s all just managed weeds,” as …
Urban Meadow, Grove Park
Here is a sneak peek of our latest creation, a perennial meadow in a front garden in Grove Park, London. This is the first meadow in our forthcoming Ten Meadows project (you will hear about this soon, promise!) Doesn’t look so floriferous now of course, but a patient client will be rewarded… revisit in 12 months and it will seem a completely different place. We can’t wait! Recommended Reading: Meadows (The British Wildlife Collection) Making a Wildflower Meadow