THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Why are you running about trying to get your father a present for this Sunday? Don’t work so hard! Get him a ticket to Boys Toys at Hylands Park instead…
Though lower down this post we offer a few other ideas… tools. BBQ stuff. World Cup bunting to decorate your garden… all the cliches. Having said that, some tools are great, like this one Okatsune 217 Hedge Shears
Boys Toys 2014 at Hylands Park in Chelmsford might not seem like Modern Mint’s normal modus operandi – we normally eschew extreme stunts, helicopter flights and monster truck rides for a gentler way of life.
But now and again you need the contrast. So bring on the power!
Starts at 11am, Spitfire MK XI and Hawker Hurricane arrive at 1, they will be worth the entrance fee alone. What are you waiting for? Get your tickets now!
Of course, if that doesn’t do it for you… because your father prefers gardening to cars (or you just can’t make it to Chelmsford…)
Here are a few more ideas for presents this Father’s day:
And now for some tools!
and the best power tools of them all…
Enjoy! Happy shopping!
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….! …
ClipFest 2025
On Sunday June 22nd there will be Clipfest 2025 at Ichi-Coo Park in Surrey. It is a celebration of all things pruning and topiary, and I will be there in my capacity of teacher at the European Boxwood and Topiary Society to demonstrate tool cleaning and sharpening, and how to clip. Tickets can be found here on Eventbrite. We are hoping for great weather and to see lots of keen pruners getting their shears out and joining us at this amazing garden! And for more on topiary…
Secateur Holders
A present arrived from Norway today, from a student who visited last February to work with Chris Poole and I on learning topiary. His new hobby – a beautiful and neatly stitched secateur holder. Thrilled with this! The holder will save me keep losing my secatuers too…! Thank you Bernt! It was the same student who introduced me to the APA with whom I am doing a talk at the end of March. Tickets can be bought here for ‘Defining The Essence – Aesthetic Pruning in the Garden’. Do join the European Boxwood and Topiary Society for that!