THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Boxford Gardening Club
Last night Modern Mint visited a wonderful garden club in Suffolk, Oxford Gardening Club.
Darren presented one of his favourite talks – ‘What Do I Do With This Space?’ and sold several items afterwards, including the Modern Mint hand creams and hori hori knives. A hori hori knife is a Japanese trowel, a lethal weapon and an incredibly popular item on our shop – we also sold a few online last night, so are packing those up this morning!
Answers to Questions from Boxford Gardeners
The first question we need to answer is: who is the designer that worked with Piet Oudolf?
The answer is Henk Gerritsen.
Henk Gerritsen designed the gardens at Waltham Place.
Wrote ‘Essay On Gardening’.
Also put together a wonderful ‘plant bible’ of modern perennials, co-written with Piet Oudolf. All Henk’s writings are worth a read!
The second question is about mulching. We recommend Dalefoot Composts. They can be bought locally through Ian Tinton.
Lastly, we were asked: where can we see Darren talk in March?
The answer is at the Quay Theatre, Sudbury on March 12th.
See more about his new talk ‘Green Elements: Cultivating Your Garden In Extraordinary Times’ and get a ticket.
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….! …