THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Yesterday we wrote about Boys Toys in Chelmsford, today we want to expand on that… with a few more manly tools…
Tripod ladders are a must – light to carry and get you right into the hedge, reducing the danger of over-stretching. Which you’re liable to do, if not at the start, then when you get tired and want to finish the hedge quickly…
These are not a bad way to start, cut beautifully and feel good in the hand…
Thinning shears or ‘dainty pruners’, these are useful for accurate cutting. Or getting the salad leaves in to go with the BBQ…
Dad’s love barbeques… apparently. So buy him this. Although if you do have money to spend…
… we suggest these shears. Oh! They are so beautiful to use!
So beautiful to use, we end up clipping more than we should. (Not on your garden) but in our own…
The larger version, for extra reach and tougher woody hedges, are also great. Little tip: you don’t always have to hold them at the ends either…
The best blade?
The best saw? (But good golly be careful!!!)
And if you don’t want to use your own power… if you just love petrol and oil and all those power tools… those Boys Toys… then here you are. Wear earplugs. Eh? WEAR EARPLUGS!
10 Years Of Modern Mint
On Valentine’s day this year (2024) Modern Mint, the company I started when I moved to Essex to explore a fresh, contemporary approach to gardening, will be 10 years old. The cliche is time flies… but it does! So much has happened in a decade, from studying topiary with Charlotte Molesworth, to clipping all over the UK (and eventually in the USA and Sweden) to selling shears and secateurs at garden shows and hiding away my reticence to give talks about gardening and topiary to Horticultural Societies across the UK. Ten years feels a good time to mark a new …
Garden Masterclass Trailer – The Modern Topiarist
In 2022 I did a free video for Garden Masterclass, the Annie Guilfoyle and Noel Kingsley run website that is a treasure trove of the great and good of the horticultural world – well worth looking through all the wonderful talks they have available, like meadow-maker James Hitchmough or nurserywoman Rosy Hardy. They are certainly inspirational! Perfect for watching and dreaming up new ideas during the winter months… As a follow-up to my Topiary Provocations video (which you can see on Youtube for free) I was asked to do a video for their Masterclass series on how to make topiary. …
Charlotte Molesworth’s Garden In The FT
The lovely garden of my mentor Charlotte Molesworth is featured here in the Financial Times in the last week or so… She has been interviewed lots of times but I thought this was a particularly great piece, with some photos done at unusual angles and different parts… so well worth a read. For more on topiary by Charlotte Molesworth…