THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Brought By Bike is an excellent website I found last month, where businesses offer their services by (of course) bicycle.
Modern Mint and my topiary work is now live on the site offering my topiary services, via bike, to the following two postcodes –
CM1
CM2
Now I can imagine I will need to borrow a ladder should anyone have a larger shrub, but most town gardens in the Chelmsford area have a need not just for privacy but to let light into the house… so a balance must be struck when shaping hedges and shrubs to cover both needs.
So hopefully I won’t need to borrow a ladder too often, as people will want shorter topiary designs. I believe the topiary work will entail more of an editing down of branches, to create a dappled light – so lots of mophead topiaries, or acer pruning, or funny swirls and blobs…
Using a bike to get to work is a dream of mine…. the reduction in my carbon footprint, the exercise and just the slightly less hurried nature of it all – the work will be done, and I will hear see a little of the world on my way there!
As an aside, if you would like to reduce your carbon footprint, you can plant a tree – Trees For Life.
Or use Bulb as your energy supplier, as I do at home – Quote For Renewable Energy At Home.
So I hope if you live in Chelmsford you will consider having your topiary composition Brought By Bike. To see more of my topiary work go here, or get in touch and we can chat about how I could help you.
Modern Topiary, the Book, at Garden Media Guild
My book about topiary, Modern Topiary, has been mentioned on the Garden Media Guild newsletter…. As the screenshot says, the book can be read for free online here. At the bottom of the screenshot, it looks like another Garden Media Guild member has a book out called ‘A Year In A Cottage Garden’…. so if that is where your garden heart lies, check that out too! And at the top of the screenshot, it looks like I was listening to Pelleas et Melisande, by Debussy. What a classy chap I am, listening to classical music as I reply to emails. …
Start of the Whitby Topiary Library
I have been offered a space here in the centre of Whitby, south-facing aspect, with some raised beds in, so that I can make a Topiary Library. In my head, a topiary library is a place to showcase the common (and then not so common) shapes you can make out of topiary. With classical topiary plants, as well as some more unusual pieces. This Topiary Library can act as a reference for people to learn more about pruning and clipping. The space is small but the aspect is great and the beds are deep enough to put some plants in. …
Delivery After Dark – From the Makers of The Amelia Project
Last week I spent most nights stood in cold water streams on the moors of North Yorkshire, helping to film a new project called Delivery After Dark from the makers of the Amelia Project. I worked on the Amelia Project back at the end of 2024, lending my terrible vocal talents to a small part in the episode Didius Julianus. But this project is something new – and exciting! – and thankfully only needed me to be filmed, rather than to actually say anything. But not only did I have to stand in cold moving water at midnight, I also …