THE MODERN MINT BLOG
Our Chelsea Fringe project ‘You Should Have Seen It Last Week…’ is now finished and up on the website, where you can see all the pictures taken by our brilliant collaborators… collaborators who hailed from all corners of the globe.
Their efforts were brilliant and the body of work fascinating – when flicking through the photos you get this record of nature in fast forward – it not only provokes comment (‘hey look, the colour of the sea today!’) but makes you question how worthy a plant may be (‘that peony took nearly three weeks to flower, then finished in two days…’)
We also loved this about the Chelsea Fringe – people came together, talked, shared, opened their arms up to each other – all because of the gardens they care for.
The reasons to garden are so varied – to save the planet, to save the pollinators, to grow food, to prune, to show off your skills or just to show-off – yet everyone is bound by the same rules… that sunlight, water and earth will mean something grows, and where something grows something is shared.
Here is what we share with you then, our Chelsea Fringe project for 2014, from 3 different continents and 6 different countries… you should have seen it last week? Well, now you can…
Michael Gibson, New York Topiary Art!
In the New York Times earlier this year was a lovely interview with Michael Gibson, who makes topiary and gardens in New York. The article is here but you may not have access… however, search the internet, find it and have a read. It is great! His philosophy of pruning is especially worth it… Sacred geometry in topiary? Yes please! What a phrase! I think (and speak) of balance, of major and minor, of leaf volume… but sacred geometry might well make it into my topiary teaching lexicon! And the idea of directional trimming? I realise I do this, but …
Topiary Library
I do a lot of teaching topiary. I had the opportunity from my mentor, Charlotte Molesworth, to work on her garden and experiment and test techniques and generally try making shapes without the worry of failure, or being fired, or being sued and run out of business for getting it wrong. This opportunity was essential (along with Charlotte’s insistance that pruning standards had to be high!) in becoming better at topiary. When I look around the world at our cultural vitamins, what we see in the media day in and day out, I see the stupidest and grossest of people …
Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue
With Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society we visited Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue in Rutland. Do you know it? Amazing place! Chris and I were teaching a topiary workshop in order to give local people the skills and technique, and tenacity! to help with the pruning of the avenue and elevate it to something even more special than it already is. Read more about the workshops here. We hope to run a further workshop in September 2026, as well as teach an advanced course too. Check the teaching page through the year as it will be updated …